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Kyrie Irving named MVP, headlines FIBA World Cup all-tournament team

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty

The Americans didn't just take home the 2014 FIBA World Cup championship, but also claimed the tournament MVP award and two spots on the all-tournament team.

Point guard Kyrie Irving was named tournament MVP following his game-high 26-point performance in Sunday's title game. His 15 points in the first quarter helped the Americans climb out of an early deficit before steamrolling the Serbians en route to gold. 

Irving's role on Team USA was actually up for debate before the tournament started. Many pegged his connection to head coach Mike Krzyzewski (via Duke) as the main reason for his inclusion, but he performed admirably, providing steady leadership at the point. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers guard averaged 12.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, while connecting on 54.4 percent of his three-pointers. Most importantly, his consistent play helped make up for backup point guard Derrick Rose's erratic performance.

Irving was joined by teammate Kenneth Faried on the all-tournament team along with Serbian wing Milos Teodosic, France's Nicolas Batum and Spanish center Pau Gasol.

Like Irving, Faried was no lock to make the U.S. roster because floor-spacing is paramount in the international game, and Faried's subpar jump shot led many to view him as a liability. However, Faried contributed in other ways, most notably on the glass, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. He feasted on second-chance points and averaged 12.4 points per game on 63.8 percent shooting.

As for the remaining members of the all-tournament team, Teodosic led a surprisingly upstart Serbian team that captured silver, while Batum scored 27 points in his final game to help France capture bronze. Gasol averaged an impressive 20 points and six rebounds per game. 

Per-game averages: 

Player PPG RPG APG
Milos Teodosic 13.6 2.1 4.4
Pau Gasol 20 5.9 1.4
Nicolas Batum 14.6 3.1 3.3
Kenneth Faried 12.4 7.8 0.7
Kyrie Irving 12.1 2.6 3.6

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