Germany Wins Basketball World Cup for 1st Time

Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Final - Germany v Serbia - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 10, 2023 Germany players celebrate with the trophy after winning the FIBA World Cup 2023 Final REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Final - Germany v Serbia - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 10, 2023 Germany players celebrate with the trophy after winning the FIBA World Cup 2023 Final REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
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Germany Wins Basketball World Cup for 1st Time

Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Final - Germany v Serbia - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 10, 2023 Germany players celebrate with the trophy after winning the FIBA World Cup 2023 Final REUTERS/Lisa Marie David
Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Final - Germany v Serbia - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 10, 2023 Germany players celebrate with the trophy after winning the FIBA World Cup 2023 Final REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Have a summer, Germany. Dirk Nowitzki went into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and now his homeland stands atop the men’s international basketball world.

Dennis Schroder scored 28 points, Franz Wagner added 19 and Germany capped off an unbeaten run through the World Cup by holding off Serbia 83-77 in the final on Sunday night. It was Germany’s first World Cup title; before now, its top showing in the event was a bronze at Indianapolis in 2002.

Germany went 8-0 in the tournament, becoming the fifth consecutive champion to go unbeaten.

Aleksa Avramovic scored 21 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 17 for Serbia (6-2), which lost the title game for the second time in the last three tournaments. It was routed by the US 129-92 in the 2014 gold-medal game, and little was expected of the team this summer — merely because its best player, Nikola Jokic of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets, decided not to play and instead opted to rest for the coming season.

But Serbia went on a surprise run, fueled by inspiration the team took from the loss of reserve forward Borisa Simanic. He was fouled late in a first-round win against South Sudan, needed surgery that night for internal injuries and then a second surgery was required to remove one of his kidneys.

Simanic will get a medal. But it’ll be silver, after Germany simply proved too tough, The Associated Press reported.

A 22-10 run in the third quarter gave Germany all the breathing room it needed after a back-and-forth opening half, and Serbia couldn’t reclaim the lead down the stretch. It got within 79-77 after Marko Guduric made a pair of free throws with 39.5 seconds left, but Schroder blew past two defenders for a layup on the ensuing German possession to restore a four-point edge.

The notion of Germany being the world’s best in basketball was farfetched even when Nowitzki was the country’s best player.

No more. Germany came up with a plan to ask its best players for a three-year commitment to the national team, with eyes on this World Cup and the Paris Olympics. This was the second year of that plan, and a team that didn’t even get out of the opening round at any of the last three World Cups — finishing 17th in 2010, not qualifying in 2014 and finishing 18th in 2019 — now has the Naismith Trophy in its possession for the next four years.



Lewis Hamilton Paces Both F1 Practices on Opening Day of Las Vegas Grand Prix

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Lewis Hamilton attends the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/AFP
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Lewis Hamilton attends the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/AFP
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Lewis Hamilton Paces Both F1 Practices on Opening Day of Las Vegas Grand Prix

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Lewis Hamilton attends the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/AFP
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 18: Lewis Hamilton attends the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images/AFP

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton paced both of Thursday night's practices at the Las Vegas Grand Prix just two weeks after one of the worst races of his career.
The Mercedes driver was despondent over his performance in Brazil when he intimated after the race he wasn't even sure he wanted to finish the final three races of the season. Hamilton is moving to Ferrari at the end of the season.
“I didn’t really want to come back," Hamilton said in Las Vegas of his Brazil performance, where he struggled with the handling of his car, called it “undriveable” and “the bumpiest ride ever” after finishing 10th, The Associated Press said.
“If this is the last time that I get to perform, it’s a shame it wasn’t great, but (I’m) grateful for you,” Hamilton said on his team radio after the race.
Hamilton clarified those remarks in Las Vegas, explaining how frustrated he was by the Brazil performance.
“In the moment, that’s how I felt," he said. “I didn’t really want to come back after that weekend, but I think that’s only natural. It’s frustrating when you have a season like this, which I’m pretty sure I won’t have again, or at least I’ll work towards not having again. It wasn’t a great feeling in that moment but I’m here, I’m standing strong, and I’m going to give it absolutely everything for the last few races.”
He proved he can bounce back as he led both the first and second practice sessions Thursday in Las Vegas. He was followed in second practice by championship contender Lando Norris of McLaren and Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Max Verstappen, who only needs to finish three points ahead of Norris on Saturday night, was 17th in the second practice.
Hamilton and Russell went 1-2 in the opening practice, with Norris third. Verstappen was a more respectable fifth for Red Bull.