World Cup Awards

[JGX]

Best team: USA
Best player: Faried and Pau in the group stage, Irving and Batum in the knockout stages. Yeah, I'm copping out.
Best team to watch: Philippines, obviously
Best fans: Finland
Biggest upset: Senegal over Croatia
Most gratifying result: France over Spain
Best game: France-Serbia, both
Worst game: Any game with Egypt
Best Serbianized name: Džefri Čen
Breakout player: Lauvergne, Kalinic
Disappointing player: Motiejunas, Edgar Sosa
Washed up: Nocioni, Santiago
Best naturalized player: Poor crop overall. Blatche was Blatche, Pooh didn't hit any shots.
Worst naturalized player: Larry Taylor, Casey Frank. Frank has played for NZ for a long time so I understand why he's there but why is Taylor taking up a roster spot?
Team that could most use a naturalized player: Senegal
Most impactful absences: Marei, Horford, Ginobili
Balanced threesome: Printezis, Bourousis, Calathes (look at the stats)
Best poster: christodoulou76
Last laugh: usagre (RIP)
Best beard: Raduljica in an upset
Disappointing team: Spain, Australia
Better than expected: Mexico
Exactly as expected: Puerto Rico
Best FIBA announcer: Liam Canny has retired this award by now
Most annoying ESPN announcer-ism: Reminding us every game that it only takes 5 fouls to foul out, as if the concept of a 5-foul limit in a 40-minute game is alien to Americans.
Stupidest thing that FIBA players do: Commit the "professional foul" to stop the fast break 70 feet from the basket when three guys are back on defense.
Spanoulis award: Tai Webster, Jeter, Blatche(!)

[christodoulou76]

I love these awards! But I would give the award for best posters to the Americans - Norcal, JGX, Federoy, Raze Lupin, usagre, Steadysoul. You guys had great discussions about the American team, with a lot of historical info and stats that really analyzed the team in an expert way. It was a pleasure to read.

[Buzissa]

Generally, American posters here are polite and don't get cocky or disrespectful even when they are destroying every opponent. I appreciate that.
I also vote for christodoulou76 for best poster. I guess you must be getting bored with all the praise, but your work with the predictions game was awesome.

[christodoulou76]

Generally, American posters here are polite and don't get cocky or disrespectful even when they are destroying every opponent. I appreciate that.
I also vote for christodoulou76 for best poster. I guess you must be getting bored with all the praise, but your work with the predictions game was awesome.

Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. One never gets bored with praise - it is one of the peculiarities of the human condition.

[CHBB]

I agree with most of those except for me the most annoying ESPN-announcerism was treating it like any other ESPN broadcast. How many times do we have to hear about the NFL or whatever other thing ESPN wants to talk about during the broadcast and for the love of God stop telling us how much you want that FIBA rim rule introduced in the NBA just because you want to be more entertained! Oh, and the mispronunciation of names always gets me.

[NorCal]

Best team: USA
Best player: Faried and Pau in the group stage, Irving and Batum in the knockout stages. Yeah, I'm copping out.
Best team to watch: Philippines, obviously
Best fans: Finland
Biggest upset: Senegal over Croatia
Most gratifying result: France over Spain
Best game: France-Serbia, both
Worst game: Any game with Egypt
Best Serbianized name: Džefri Čen
Breakout player: Lauvergne, Kalinic
Disappointing player: Motiejunas, Edgar Sosa
Washed up: Nocioni, Santiago
Best naturalized player: Poor crop overall. Blatche was Blatche, Pooh didn't hit any shots.
Worst naturalized player: Larry Taylor, Casey Frank. Frank has played for NZ for a long time so I understand why he's there but why is Taylor taking up a roster spot?
Team that could most use a naturalized player: Senegal
Most impactful absences: Marei, Horford, Ginobili
Balanced threesome: Printezis, Bourousis, Calathes (look at the stats)
Best poster: christodoulou76
Last laugh: usagre (RIP)
Best beard: Raduljica in an upset
Disappointing team: Spain, Australia
Better than expected: Mexico
Exactly as expected: Puerto Rico
Best FIBA announcer: Liam Canny has retired this award by now
Most annoying ESPN announcer-ism: Reminding us every game that it only takes 5 fouls to foul out, as if the concept of a 5-foul limit in a 40-minute game is alien to Americans.
Stupidest thing that FIBA players do: Commit the "professional foul" to stop the fast break 70 feet from the basket when three guys are back on defense.
Spanoulis award: Tai Webster, Jeter, Blatche(!)

Great work here. Very creative awards and I found myself reading them and saying "yeah, I didn't think about that but you're right".

I love these awards! But I would give the award for best posters to the Americans - Norcal, JGX, Federoy, Raze Lupin, usagre, Steadysoul. You guys had great discussions about the American team, with a lot of historical info and stats that really analyzed the team in an expert way. It was a pleasure to read.

Thanks. Happy the boards didn't get too overrun this time with cruelty and rage like it does sometimes during/after big tournaments.

And, as others have pointed out, your work on the predictions game and everywhere else is much appreciated.

[ThePeraCar]

Best and most creative playmaker Teodosić
Also usa posters are very nice people as most people on this forum are with few exceptions ty guys cya in new EL season

[FrankieJB]

Best fans: Finland

I'd give it to Pinoy fans. Finnish fans were too "disciplined" and not very creative (hearing "Suo-mi" repeated all the time was annoying in the end for example). Pinoy fans were colorful and running amok play after play. This is what I thought from behind my TV at least. And FIBA elected them best fans too, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_pcwRg1C4Q (let's add Finns were not helped by the performance of their NT, which did reather poorly this year, apart from some 3-pt bursts or heroics by ballhoager Kopponen).

Best game: France-Serbia, both

OK with you, but I liked a lot Australia-Lithuania too. Less dramatic because not KO but very entertaining and competitive. And many Pinas games, of course.

Breakout player: Lauvergne, Kalinic

Gorgui Dieng too, maybe first.

Disappointing player: Motiejunas, Edgar Sosa

If you follow the NBA just a bit you shouldn't be disappointed with Motiejunas. Besides the fact he has limited skills, his bball IQ is as low as you can guess from his face.
I would add Erik Murphy. He's "only" 23 but as a NBAer he was supposed to help his team, not hinder it.

Best naturalized player: Poor crop overall. Blatche was Blatche, Pooh didn't hit any shots.

Lafayette was correct until his collapse against France.

Best FIBA announcer: Liam Canny has retired this award by now

I'd give it to Alvaro Martin. Both have kind of charismatic voices, both are smart announcers, saying pertinent facts and having a knack for transmitting emotions, but, as much as like Canny and have heard him for awhile, including in Euroleague, I now consider Martin a notch above him, both as I think he provides more lexical variation (Canny has many fun coinages in his bag but his recycle time is too short) and he has the ability to give behind-the-scene historical or topical anectodes, which is not always the case of Canny (maybe no as abreast as he's not involved full-time in basketball).

Other awards could be:

Worst FIBA announcer: I'm not going to give names because I don't want to hurt anyone (and because I don't know them either), but there are at least a couple of announcers working for FIBA who are terribly boring. What's worse is that they seem to have priority spots for commenting big events, such as was the case for the final yesterday or for Euroleague's "games of the week". They have nondescript voices (understatement), a poor elocution, have no lexical creativity and just comment on play-by-plays...

Best coach: Djordjevic, Collet, Cheikh Sarr

Worst coach: Repesa, Orenga

[HeinrichMohr]

Worst coach: Repesa, Orenga

That's funny, you used the words coach and Orenga in the same sentence.

[JGX]

I'd give it to Pinoy fans. Finnish fans were too "disciplined" and not very creative (hearing "Suo-mi" repeated all the time was annoying in the end for example). Pinoy fans were colorful and running amok play after play. This is what I thought from behind my TV at least. And FIBA elected them best fans too, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_pcwRg1C4Q (let's add Finns were not helped by the performance of their NT, which did reather poorly this year, apart from some 3-pt bursts or heroics by ballhoager Kopponen).

It was a close call. I gave Finland extra credit because they are not normally thought of as a basketball country.

Gorgui Dieng too, maybe first.

He wasn't quite what I was going for, since he was already expected to be the key player for Senegal before the tournament. Plus he didn't do much the last three games.

If you follow the NBA just a bit you shouldn't be disappointed with Motiejunas. Besides the fact he has limited skills, his bball IQ is as low as you can guess from his face.

Still, this was his chance to be one of the team leaders and he was poor.

I would add Erik Murphy. He's "only" 23 but as a NBAer he was supposed to help his team, not hinder it.

eh, he'll be playing Eurocup in a few years.

[Efesdxb]

Best naturalized player: Poor crop overall. Blatche was Blatche, Pooh didn't hit any shots.

I think Emir Preldzic is the best naturalized player...
He had a big impact on Turkey's quarter final run...

[FrankieJB]

I think Emir Preldzic is the best naturalized player...
He had a big impact on Turkey's quarter final run...

Valid point, but should we consider him naturalized? If so, that would make two with Cedi Osman, which is against the rule... And that would have made three with Arsen Ilyasov...

[Upi]

I'd give it to Pinoy fans. Finnish fans were too "disciplined" and not very creative (hearing "Suo-mi" repeated all the time was annoying in the end for example). Pinoy fans were colorful and running amok play after play. This is what I thought from behind my TV at least. And FIBA elected them best fans too, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_pcwRg1C4Q (let's add Finns were not helped by the performance of their NT, which did reather poorly this year, apart from some 3-pt bursts or heroics by ballhoager Kopponen).

The thing is the Finnish fans in its games probably outnumbered Pinoy fans close to 10:1 and the atmosphere in Finland's games was just unreal (not sure how it came through on TV), no matter what sporting event you'd compare it with.

I also think you're being a bit too tough on Erik Murphy. He's after all a rookie with very few rookie minutes and it remains to be seen whether he actually yet belongs in the NBA. In addition he was one of the players not totally underperforming vs US and he was one of the strongest players on the Finnish team vs Ukraine (both defensively and offensively). ...and it's not like Finland has too many options to play his position (or any position for that matter...).

[turk-jugoslav]

Valid point, but should we consider him naturalized? If so, that would make two with Cedi Osman, which is against the rule... And that would have made three with Arsen Ilyasov...

Ersan Ilyasova did not play. Cedi Osman is not countes as naturalized, since he got the citizenship before 16. Emir Preldzic is naturalized.

[Efesdxb]

Valid point, but should we consider him naturalized? If so, that would make two with Cedi Osman, which is against the rule... And that would have made three with Arsen Ilyasov...

Both Cedi Osman and Ersan Ilyasova came to Turkey before they were 16 years old.
On the other hand they got all their basketball training in Turkey.
That's why they are not naturalized.