MIES (Switzerland) - Some of the best players in the world have shown their promise early in their careers at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup over the life of the competition since 2010. Here are the Top 20 biggest names and how they performed in the event and beyond as professionals. 

Here is a look at places 16-20 plus Honorable mentions
Here is a look at places 11-15
Here is a look at places 6-10

Here is the fourth and final installment with places 5-1

5 - RJ Barrett - Canada - 2016

There was actually some questions whether or not Barrett would play for Canada in the U17 World Cup in 2016 as he was working out with the Canadian senior national team for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Manila 2016 in the build-up to the youth event. Barrett the previous summer starred for Canada at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2015 with 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Barrett ended up playing at the 2016 U17 World Cup and was the team leader despite playing a year younger, averaging 18.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He started the tournament with 19 points against Australia and then collected a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds against Finland. He finished the group stage with 17 points versus China. Barrett collected 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in the Round of 16 win over Dominican Republic. But Barrett's 33 points were not enough in the Quarter-Finals as Canada lost 80-74 to Türkiye.

He scored 23 points in 5-8 Classification against Australia and finished the tournament with 7 points versus France in helping Canada take fifth place with just one loss.   

Barrett made history the next summer as he averaged 21.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in guiding Canada to the title at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - the country's first global championship - with Barrett winning the MVP award. Barrett, the son of 2000 Olympian Rowan Barrett, made his debut with the senior national team in the June/July 2018 window for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

He averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in his only two games of the Qualifiers. Barrett collected 20.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 Victoria and then made more history at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. The wing collected 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists as Canada claimed third place for their first FIBA World Cup podium finish. After one season of collegiate basketball at Duke University, Barrett was picked number 3 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.

After four seasons in New York, Barrett was traded during the 2023-24 season to the Toronto Raptors, where he averaged career highs of 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 32 games. 

4 - Bradley Beal - USA- 2010

Beal was named MVP of the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2009 where he averaged 19.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the title-winning USA team. The St. Louis native did not miss a beat the next summer at the inaugural U17 World Cup in 2010. Beal was named the MVP as he ranked first on the USA team in scoring with 18.2 points per game - third-most in the tournament - while leading the competition in three-pointers made (31) and attempted (65) and ranked fourth in three-point shooting percentage (47.7 percent). He also averaged 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.

Beal knocked down at least four triples in five games, including seven in the Quarter-Finals against Australia, four in the Semi-Finals versus Canada and five in the Final against Poland, the latter in which he scored 19 points.

Bradley Beal at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2010

Beal never played again for USA Basketball though he committed to the 2020 Olympics and played in three exhibition games ahead of the Games in 2021 but was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19.

Beal played one season in college at the University of Florida and then was selected No. 3 overall by the Washington Wizards in 2012. He was named to the All-NBA Rookie Team in 2013 and was a three-time NBA All-Star, including making the All-NBA Third Team in 2021. Beal has averaged 21.9 points per game over his career and twice averaged more than 30 points - topping out at 31.3 points per game in 2020-21.

After playing 82 regular season games in 2017-18 and 2018-19, Beal played a career-low 40 games in 2021-22 as he underwent season-ending surgery on his left wrist in February 2022. After 11 seasons with Washington, Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns in June 2023 and he averaged 18.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 2023-24. 

3 - Andrew Wiggins – Canada - 2010

Wiggins made his FIBA debut at the U17 World Cup 2010 and was two years younger than the rest of the competition. He was not intimidated as he averaged 8.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. His best games came when it mattered most and he showed all a glimpse of what was to come in the future. He scored 20 points and had 5 rebounds in a Semi-Finals loss to the United States and then collected 12 points and 5 rebounds against Lithuania to help Canada secure the bronze medal.

Andrew Wiggins at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 Victoria

Wiggins would play for Canada's youth ranks again two years later at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2012 and he averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the country finished third. Wiggins made his senior national team debut in FIBA competition at the FIBA AmeriCup 2015, where he averaged 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in helping Canada to third place.

Wiggins did not play again for Canada until the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 Victoria, where he averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists but could not get the country to the Tokyo Games. He played one season of college basketball with the University of Kansas and then was chosen with the number one overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers but was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Wiggins was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2015 and in his first four seasons in the NBA played all 82 games three times, lining up for 81 games in the other season. He was traded during the 2019-20 season from Minnesota to Golden State and in 2022 earned his first NBA All-Star appearance and helped Golden State to the NBA title. This past season the 29-year-old Wiggins averaged 13.2 points to go with 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists. 

2 - Jamal Murray - Canada - 2014

 
Murray played for Canada at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2013 and averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He took on the same leadership at the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2014, topping the team in scoring with 16.4 points - ranking seventh overall - and 2.9 assists while also grabbing 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

Also noteworthy, Murray played 190 minutes and committed only three turnovers in the tournament. Murray poured in 25 points in a big win over Australia in the group stage but his 24 points - on just 7-of-22 shooting - were not enough versus Serbia in the Quarter-Finals. 

Jamal Murray at the Pan American Games 2015

Murray played the following summer at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto and helped Canada to the silver medal - at just 18 years of age - with 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. That would be the last time that Murray played for Canada.

In 2016, the Denver Nuggets drafted him seventh overall after one season at Kentucky. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2017. Murray helped Denver become the first NBA team to rally from multiple 3-1 series deficits to reach the 2020 NBA Western Conference Finals with some of amazing individual performances. He averaged more than 20 points per game in 2019-20 and 2020-21 but then missed the entire 2021-22 season recovering from an ACL tear that ended the 2020-21 season in April.

Murray teamed up with Nikola Jokic and guided Denver to a magical run to the 2023 NBA title. Murray became the first player in NBA history to average 30 points on 50/40/90 percent shooting in the Conference Finals.  In the Finals he averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points and 10 assists per game in an NBA Finals series. In 2023-24, Murray tied his career-high with 21.2 points per game and set a new best with 6.5 assists to go with 4.1 rebounds. But the Nuggets were eliminated by Minnesota in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. 

1 - Jayson Tatum - USA - 2014

Tatum was a year younger at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2013 but he still averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The next summer, the St. Louis area native played a key role in helping the United States win their third U17 World Cup crown with 11.3 points - third most on the USA team - to go along with 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals. Tatum's top scoring output came against Japan in the Round of 16 as he scored 19 points. He stood out in the Americans' big fight in the Final against Australia with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. 

Tatum added another youth global title the following summer, helping United States win the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2015 with 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

Tatum made his debut with the USA senior team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019  but he was limited to just two games due to an injury, averaging 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Tatum returned for the 2020 Olympics and averaged 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in helping USA to the gold medal. He became the first player in history to win gold at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup and the Olympics.

After one season with Duke University, Tatum was selected third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. Tatum was named to the 2018 NBA All-Rookie First Team and helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Tatum and Boston returned to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020, this time losing to Miami in six games. Tatum in 2021-22 was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first of three straight seasons. The five-time NBA All-Star guided Boston to the NBA Finals in 2022 but lost in six games to Golden State and then fell to Miami in the Conference Finals in 2023. Tatum in 2022-23 averaged career highs of 30.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.

Tatum and Boston are back in the NBA Finals in 2024 and facing the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists during the season.

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