FIBA World Cup betting preview: Breaking down the favorites in every group

Basketball in August. Is there anything better?

The FIBA World Cup tips off Friday in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The tournament is made up of 32 teams split into eight groups of four. The top two teams in each group advance to the second round, which is another group stage.

The top two teams in the new four groups then advance to the single-elimination quarterfinals.

Later this week, we'll break down the best bets and potential winners. For now, we've got a breakdown of each group.

FIBA World Cup champion odds

(All odds via theScore Bet)

The United States - the most dominant basketball country in the world - is a huge favorite despite the rest of the world catching up.

In 2021, Team USA won its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in a narrow 87-82 win over France. However, the FIBA World Cup doesn't carry the same weight as the Olympics, so fewer American-born superstars participate.

In the last FIBA World Cup in 2019, Team USA finished seventh with a lackluster roster. It was embarrassing for USA Basketball, a prominent organization with lofty expectations.

That team featured a young Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Donovan Mitchell. It's hard to imagine now, but none of those guys had made an All-Star appearance at the time.

This year's roster falls somewhere between the uninspiring 2019 World Cup team and the star-studded 2021 Olympic team.

Headlined by Jalen Brunson, Brandon Ingram, Mikal Bridges, and Anthony Edwards, this year's team has talent but is the first with no senior international experience since FIBA began allowing NBA players to participate in 1989.

This is also the first U.S. senior team that doesn't have a single player selected to an All-NBA team the season prior.

Despite concerns about inexperience, Team USA is still favored to win.

America's neighbors to the north are the third-favorites with much longer odds at +800. Canada is led by first-team All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The rest of the lineup is full of dependable NBA players, including RJ Barrett, Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kelly Olynyk, and Dwight Powell.

Group A odds

Simone Fontecchio is the only NBA player on Italy's roster, but the team still has flair. Italian stars Luca Severini and Marco Spissu should bring an experienced Italy team deep.

Karl-Anthony Towns - one of the best players in the tournament - is suiting up for the Dominican Republic. Jordan Clarkson will represent the Philippines, and NBA fans can expect him to be the primary scorer for the host country.

Group B odds

Although reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic isn't playing in this event, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Nikola Jovic are familiar names to NBA fans. Serbia shouldn't have a problem escaping this group.

Kyle Anderson is the lone NBA player for China.

Group C odds

It's not hard to see why America is the overwhelming favorite to win this group. Despite the inexperience outlined previously, Team USA still has the most talent.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's withdrawal as he recovers from offseason surgery lengthened Greece's odds dramatically and took the intrigue out of the matchup with the U.S. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis' brother, is part of the team.

Group D odds

Led by the Pelicans' Jonas Valanciunas and the 76ers' Azuolas Tubelis, Lithuania is the favorite in one of the weaker groups. Montenegro has the next-best chance at advancing with Nikola Vucevic.

Group E odds

Australia has a slew of NBA players, including Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Josh Giddey, Josh Green, and Patty Mills. The Aussies have the fourth-best odds to win the tournament. They finished in fourth place in the last World Cup and third place in the last Olympics.

Germany is also a legitimate threat with Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, and Daniel Theis. Germany had a strong showing in its exhibition games, defeating Canada in its first bout before dropping its second game to the Canadians in overtime. The Germans then had a 16-point second-half lead against Team USA before faltering to the favorites.

Group F odds

Take one glance at Slovenia's roster and you'll see why they're substantial favorites in this group. Luka Doncic is the best player at the World Cup. Slovenia has the seventh-best odds to win after he carried them to a fourth-place finish at the Olympics two years ago.

Group G odds

Spain is the defending FIBA World Cup champion and is a basketball powerhouse on the international stage. However, this team doesn't have some of the prominent Spaniards who've represented the country in the past like the Gasol brothers or Ricky Rubio, who led the 2021 Olympics in scoring. Santi Aldama and Usman Garuba will lead Spain, which has the fifth-best odds to win gold and won't have a problem making it out of this group.

Group H odds

Gilgeous-Alexander might be one of the best players in the entire tournament, but when Jamal Murray opted out last week to recover from a grueling NBA Finals run, Canada's odds lengthened dramatically.

A Murray and Gilgeous-Alexander pairing would've created the most dominant backcourt duo in the tournament.

Canada was +400 to win the tournament, but the Murray announcement pushed it all the way to +800. The U.S.' odds subsequently shortened from -105 to -125, while France jumped Canada.

France has established itself as an international basketball force in recent years. It finished third in the 2019 World Cup and lost to the U.S. in the gold-medal game at the 2021 Olympics. The French are led by Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, and Evan Fournier.

Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter @soshtry for more betting coverage.