FIBA World Cup 1994 was held in Canada. This was the first Mundobasket where the United States was represented by NBA players.
This was 12th edition of the FIBA World Cup. The tournament was held in August, and 16 national teams participated. In many ways, this Mundobasket was special.
Reigning champion Yugoslavia could not defend the title because they were suspended. For the first time in the Mundobasket history, NBA players represented United States. Also, the extremely talented Steve Nash presented himself to the public.
Yugoslavia could not defend the throne
Yugoslavia won the FIBA World Cup 1990 in Argentina. However, they were not able to defend the gold at the championship held in Canada four years later.
The reason was sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia, due to war events in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sanctions applied to all spheres of life, including sports.
Mundobasket in Canada was not the only competition that Yugoslavia missed due to sanctions. They did not have the right to perform at Eurobasket in 1993, as well as at the Olympic Games in 1992.
As for the world cups, the tournament in Canada was the second in history in which Yugoslavia did not participate.
The Dream Team and Shaquille O’Neal dominance
For a long time, the United States participated in major competitions without players from the NBA. However, everything changed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, when the original Dream Team entered the scene.
The World Cup in Canada was specific, among other things, because the Dream Team made its debut at Mundobasket. Admittedly, the team was not the same as in Barcelona, but it was more than good.
On the United States team that played in Canada, just some of the names were Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Miller, Shawn Kemp and Dominique Wilkins.
“Something catastrophic would have happened to us if we hadn’t won. After the 115:100 triumph against Spain, Don Nelson was angry. I didn’t expect that. He told us not to take international matches for granted” – said Mourning in the FIBA documentary.
That attitude of Don Nelson (United States head coach) best says how much quality they had. In addition to convincing wins, the USA had a great game with many great actions and moves.
Also, Nelson himself loved that kind of basketball. He used the team’s configuration to the maximum, as the United States had everything from great point guards and shooters to dominant players under the rim. The legendary coach wanted his team to play fast, to use open court and for his basketball players to be alone on the shot as often as possible.
After Nelson was angry because they won by “only” 15 points, they won all the other games convincingly. Even the final was not interesting and already after the first half it was clear that Russia had nothing to look for. The United States hit the first ten shots and out of the first 17 attempts, they were not accurate only once.
Although the whole team played great, one basketball player stood out in particular among the Americans. It was Shaquille O’Neal. The giant in the center position was unstoppable, and in the end he was declared as MVP.
Croatia won a medal even without Drazen Petrovic
The entire basketball world was shocked when Drazen Petrovic died in a car accident in Germany in 1993. Croatia was thus left without its best player in the cruelest possible way.
A year later, Croatia made its debut at the FIBA World Cup. Dino Radja and Toni Kukoc led their national team, as the two biggest stars at that time, given that they both played in the NBA.
Step by step, Croatia reached the fight for medals. However, Sergei Bazarevich and his friends were an unsolvable enigma for the Croats, so in the end they had to settle for third place. In the match for bronze, they defeated Greece and won the medal.
Even though they won a medal without Drazen Petrovic, they were missing him a lot, especially against Russia in the semifinals. The match was tough, Croatia’s defense was good, but they were left without enough solutions in offense. Just like the ones that adorned the “basketball Mozart”.
It turned out to be Croatia’s only medal at world cups, at least for now. Given that they won’t even play at this year’s Mundobasket, this fact won’t change for some time.
Steve Nash on the big stage
Canada hosted the FIBA World Cup in 1994. It was also an opportunity for the future big star, Steve Nash, to make his debut on the biggest stage and to introduce himself to the world.
At the time when the championship was held, Nash was only 20 years old. However, this did not prevent him from showing his lavish talent and lucidity that adorned him throughout his rich career.
Although he was still playing college basketball at Santa Clara, Nash story was one of the most beautiful of the entire tournament. He would later become an NBA superstar and twice the MVP.
During his career, he played for the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers. As a head coach, he had one term in the Brooklyn Nets franchise.
Trivia
Australia took fifth place in Canada. At that moment, it was their best result in national team history. The most deserving person was Andrew Gaze, with 23.9 points on average. He was also the best scorer at the tournament.
Although there were several candidates for the MVP, that award ultimately went to Shaquille O’Neal. He also finished in the All-Tournament Team, together with his teammates, Shawn Kemp and Reggie Miller. They were also joined by Dino Radja and Sergei Bazarevich.
Final game between the United States and Russia was spectated by 32,616 people, which is the largest attendance in the history of Mundobasket.