EuroBasket Group B Roster Breakdown

Part two of four

EuroBasket begins tomorrow, August 27th, and the Group B clash between Great Britain and Lithuania will be the tournament’s first game. If you want the details on Group A, you can check out my breakdown or find someone else’s work, who is probably far more qualified to write about it.

Group B is hosted in the Finnish city of Tampere. The city is the largest inland city among the Nordic countries, with a metropolitan area population of 425,000. Even though it isn’t on the coast, Tampere is situated between two lakes with a channel connecting the two. Apparently, Tampere is the sauna capital of the world, as it has the most public saunas in the world.

Now that the geography is out of the way, let’s get to the Group B rosters. Remember, the top four teams will advance to the knockout rounds in Riga, Latvia.

Germany

Final roster: Isaac Bonga, Oscar Da Silva, Tristan Da Silva, Justus Hollatz, Leon Kratzer, Maodo Lo, Andreas Obst, Dennis Schroder, Daniel Theis, Johannes Thiemann, Johannes Voigtmann, Franz Wagner

Germany has quietly built an impressive basketball program post-unification. They have qualified for every EuroBasket since 1993, won it in 1993, finished second in 2005, and finished third in 2022. They’re also the reigning FIBA World Cup champions, going 8-0 to claim their first basketball World Cup. From their World Cup-winning squad, nine players have returned for EuroBasket, with the most notable absences being Moritz Wagner, who tore his ACL in December of 2024, and David Kramer, who just signed a one-year deal with Real Madrid. Germany has three current NBAers and two more with prior NBA experience.

While Franz Wagner is the best NBA player on Team Germany, Dennis Schroder is the reigning World Cup MVP and has been an absolute beast in international play. He averaged 19.1 points and 6.1 assists per game during the 2023 World Cup, and then 17.2 points and 7.5 assists during the 2024 Olympics. He’s also coming off a successful NBA campaign where he was too good for the tanking Nets, and then solid as a backup point guard for the playoff-bound Warriors and Pistons. In the NBA, he may be best utilized as a bench player, but in international play, he’s a star.

Wagner will have to go it alone without his brother and NBA teammate Moritz. Regardless, this should be the tournament where he finally takes the team from Schroeder. If it wasn’t for an oblique injury that limited him to 60 games, Wagner had a very real chance of making his first All-NBA team. He averaged 24.2 points and 4.7 assists per game on nearly league-average efficiency, while playing solid defense on the wing. If he can ever rediscover his 3-point shot (28.9% the past two seasons), he’ll instantly become one of the best wings in the NBA, and could be the star that secures Germany their second EuroBasket crown.

Before getting to the European-based players, I want to touch on the three remaining NBAers. Tristan Da Silva, whose brother Oscar is also on the team, had a solid rookie season with the Orlando Magic and projects as a rotation-level wing. His shooting efficiency was poor in his first NBA campaign, but he should find space easier in EuroBasket. Isaac Bonga had a brief NBA career where he flashed real potential. In 2019-20, as a 20-year-old, he averaged five points per game on excellent efficiency and looked like he might have an NBA career. Unfortunately, his shooting fell off, and he came back to Europe. However, for Partizan this past season, his shooting rebounded, and he has continued to be a solid contributor on the wing in international play. Daniel Theis managed to hang around in the NBA for eight seasons, starting 160 games. After nearly a decade out of Europe, he returned to Monaco and put together a strong season, averaging 13.8 points per game in the EuroLeague.

Andreas Obst, a 6’3 guard who currently plays for Bayern Munich, is a lethal shooter from distance. In the 181 games in Basketball Reference’s database, he has shot 41.6% from three. He’s also coming off a successful EuroLeague campaign, where he averaged 10.5 points per game on 42.6% shooting from three on 6.8 attempts. Considering Wagner and Schroeder are inconsistent from deep, Obst should get significant run as a floor spacer and movement shooter.

With Moritz Wagner out of the tournament, Johannes Voigtmann should get significantly more run at center. He’s 6’11, has loads of high-level European experience, and is a real floor spacer. With 459 games in Basketball Reference’s database, Voigtmann has shot 38% from three and averaged 7.9 points per game. He’s not a star, but while Germany has excellent size and athleticism on the wings, they lack consistent shooting. He should form a solid, albeit undersized, center rotation with Theis.

Germany is easily the favorite in this group. They have the best player, best team, and a track record of international excellence with this roster. Anything short of topping the group will be a disappointment. While they’re down one key player, Germany still has the goods to win the whole thing, and a medal is definitely within their reach.

Finland

Final roster: Jacob Grandison, Andre Gustavson, Mikael Jantunen, Miro Little, Alexander Madsen, Lauri Markkanen, Edon Maxhuni, Miikka Muurinen, Olivier Nkamhoua, Sasu Salin, Ilari Seppala, Elias Valtonen

Finland’s basketball heritage is relatively pedestrian. While they’ve qualified for the past five EuroBaskets, they only qualified twice between 1969 and 2009. Their best-ever finish came in 1967 when they hosted the tournament and came in sixth. However, they managed a seventh-place showing in 2022, and hope some home cooking in the group stage can propel them to new heights.

Perhaps no team’s hopes and dreams reside as much on one player as Finland’s do with Lauri Markkanen. He’s the only player with any NBA experience and absolutely destroyed their pre-tournament friendlies. He set a national team record with 48 points against Belgium and then torched Poland for 42. Markkanen is coming off a down NBA season by his standards, but injuries were cited as a reason for the decline. With how good he looks currently, it stands to reason he’s back to his 2022-23 and 2023-24 best, when he averaged 24.5 points per game on well above league average efficiency.

The rest of Finland’s roster is full of former NCAA players who have had varying degrees of success in Europe. Edon Maxhuni, who played at Long Beach State, has had a strong recent run in Europe. The 6’2 point guard is coming off a season where he averaged 14 points per game on 44.4% 3-point shooting in the Turkish league. He was only Finland’s fifth leading scorer at the 2023 World Cup, but I expect him to be Markkanen’s offensive co-star this time around.

Sasu Salin, the team captain, is probably in one of his final international tournaments with Finland. He’s 34, and while he has had a long career in Europe, his best seasons came years ago. He’s still a decent player, but his impact looks to be waning. Elias Valtonen, who played at Arizona State, has slowly developed into a solid contributor in the Spanish league. He’s coming off a career-best 3-point shooting season (41.5%) and should get an extended run in group play.

The most intriguing player on Finland’s roster is Miikka Muurinen. The 18-year-old is currently a five-star recruit in the 2026 class and moved to the US for the 2023-24 high school season to improve his prospect profile. Rivals currently has him ranked 13th in the class, and 247Sports and ESPN place him 15th. He’s a 6’9 forward who moves well for his size with real scoring potential as a result. I’m dubious he’ll make much of an impact in this tournament, but he may end up being the heir-apparent for Finland should he continue to develop. It’s only a matter of time before he comes on the radar of Americans due to his prospect pedigree, but you can sound super cool and say you already watched him in EuroBasket.

Finland has a great chance to finish second in the group, but I doubt they’ll be able to surpass Germany. Home court advantage in every game should guarantee they make it to the knockout round, but their games against Lithuania and Montenegro should be fiercely contested.

Great Britain

Final roster: Amin Adamu, Dan Akin, Jubrile Belo, Myles Hesson, Luke Nelson, Gabe Olaseni, Tarik Phillip, Josh Ward-Hibbert, Jelani Watson-Gayle, Pat Whelan, Carl Wheatle, Akwasi Yeboah

Great Britain, surprisingly, has one of the weakest basketball programs in all of Europe. They’ve only qualified for EuroBasket five times, maxing out with three consecutive 13th-place finishes between 2009 and 2013, and own an all-time record of 4-19 in the competition. The last time they won a EuroBasket game was 2013, having gone 0-5 in both the 2017 and 2022 editions.

As a result of Great Britain’s basketball ineptitude, there’s really not that much to say about this roster. Randomly, a few of these guys played college ball at Montana State. Joshua Ward-Hibbert was an excellent youth tennis player, winning the youth doubles Australian Open in 2012 before switching his attention to basketball. In all honesty, winning a single game would count as a huge accomplishment.

Lithuania

Final roster: Laurynas Birutis, Marek Blazevic, Rokas Giedraitis, Rokas Jokubaitis, Margiris Normantas, Gytis Radzevicius, Ignas Sargiunas, Tadas Sedekerskis, Deividas Sirvydis, Azuolas Tubelis, Jonas Valanciunas, Arnas Velicka

Lithuania has one of the most storied histories in European basketball. They won consecutive EuroBaskets in 1937 and 1939 before being absorbed into the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1989. Since 1995, they’ve qualified for every EuroBasket, winning in 2003, finishing second in 1995, 2013, and 2015, and finishing third in 2007. In fact, Lithuania, since its independence, is currently on their longest EuroBasket medal drought.

Unfortunately, Domantas Sabonis, the best current NBA player from Lithuania, won’t participate, which leaves Jonas Valanciunas as their lone NBA talisman. Valanciunas was built for international play, as his bruising interior scoring is much more effective, and his defensive limitations can be hidden. While he’s a backup today, Valanciunas remains an effective offensive player in the NBA. His rebounding is elite, and no one asks him to waste his time “spacing” the floor in FIBA action.

Rokas Jokubaitis was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder but never made it stateside. Despite his well-founded aversion to America, he has carved out a long and productive career in Europe. He had a successful stint as a role player for Barcelona before heading to Israel and producing his best individual season to date. This past season for Macabi, he averaged 12.6 points and 4.6 assists per game in the EuroLeague and 11.0 points and 4.1 assists in domestic competition. A career 40.4% 3-point shooter, his combination of shooting and passing gives Lithuania a real perimeter offensive initiator.

Ignas Sargiunas was Lithuania’s third-leading scorer at the 2023 World Cup, but the 25-year-old has yet to play in the EuroLeague. Should he have another strong international tournament, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll attract attention outside of the Lithuanian domestic league.

Lithuania is a bit lacking in star power, but they’re a big team that shot incredibly well from three (42.2%) at the World Cup. If they can continue to scorch the nets from distance, they’ll make it out of the group and will have a chance against anyone. Unfortunately, I doubt this roster is quite good enough to end their medal drought.

Sweden

Final roster: Denzel Andersson, Simon Birgander, Tobias Borg, Wilhelm Falk, Viktor Gaddefors, Ludvig Hakanson, Pelle Larsson, Mattias Markusson, Barra Njie, Melwin Pantzar, Adam Ramstedt, Nicholas Spires

Sweden, despite its wealth, size, and average height (1.8 meters), has been a basketball minnow. The largest Nordic nation last qualified for EuroBasket in 2013, with their best finish a 12th-place showing in 1983 and 1969. They’ve never qualified for the World Cup, and the only Olympics they participated in were the 1980 Moscow games, which saw 66 nations boycott the event.

Pelle Larsson is Sweden’s lone NBA representative. A second-round pick in 2024, Larsson spent his rookie season slowly working his way into the Miami Heat’s rotation. While his statistics weren’t impressive (4.6 points per game), he showed enough to warrant an extended look. Larsson, even in college at Arizona, has largely been a role player, and it’s unknown if he can handle being a featured player. Regardless, he’s talented enough that Sweden should give him the license to prove if he’s up for the challenge.

Melwin Pantzar is coming off a breakout season with Bilbao in Spain. Pantzar was named EuroCup (different from EuroLeague) Finals MVP as Bilbao won the tournament. He averaged 9.5 points and 3.9 assists per game throughout the tournament, 9.8 points and 3.8 assists in domestic play, and then 18 points per game in the two-legged final. Pantzar’s scoring within the arc is inconsistent, but he’s a steady hand at point guard for a team with limited talent.

Sweden’s goal should be to be in contention to claim the fourth and final spot. It’s unlikely, but all they need to do is take care of business against Great Britain and hope to shock the continent in one of their four remaining games.

Montenegro

Final roster: Kyle Allman, Igor Drobnjak, Vladimir Mihailovic, Balsa Zivanovic, Zoran Vuceljic, Dordije Jovanovic, Andrija Slavkovic, Emir Hadzibegovic, Bojan Tomasevic, Marko Simonovic, Zoran Nikolic, Nikola Vucevic

Montenegro, since gaining independence from Serbia in 2006, has qualified for five of the seven EuroBaskets they’ve entered, and five of the six where they were part of Division A. While nowhere near a basketball power, Montenegro has punched well above its weight. With a population under 700,000, they’ve had far more international success than the likes of Sweden or Great Britain, and managed consecutive 13th-place finishes in 2017 and 2022.

Nikola Vucevic is Monenegro’s lone current NBA player, but he has been more than up to the task. Over a 14-season NBA career, Vucevic has averaged 17.2 points per game and is coming off the most efficient shooting season of his career. While Vucevic’s defense has long been a blemish on his NBA standing, it’s less of a concern in European play, and he remains a lethal offensive force. In the 2023 World Cup, he averaged 19.8 points per game on elite efficiency as Montenegro finished 11th.

Marko Simonovic is the only other Montenegrin with NBA experience. However, he only played in 16 games, amounting to 55 total minutes. The 6’11 center now plies his trade in Turkey for Bahçeşehir Koleji. In 2024-25, he had a successful domestic and EuroLeague campaign, and suddenly showed some semblance of a 3-point shot. While I’m dubious he’s a floor spacer, any threat beyond the arc makes the prospect of playing him and Vucevic together far more likely.

Unfortunately, after Vucevic, Montenegro’s next three leaders in minutes per game from their World Cup run are not on the roster, and only six out of twelve have returned. Kyle Allman, a naturalized citizen born in Brooklyn, is one of their new faces and looks poised for a large role. He stared for Paris before heading to Turkey, where his statistical production has decreased a bit. He averaged 10 points per game in domestic competition and 10.5 points per game in the EuroCup for Beşiktaş Fibabanka this past season, and should provide Montenegro with much-needed guard help.

Montenegro should find themselves in a dog fight with Finland and Lithuania for the second and third seed in Group B. They have far more talent than Great Britain and Sweden, so advancing to the knockout stage should be their baseline. However, anything short of that will count as a disaster.

For any inquiries about work, discussion, and the like, you can email me at nevin.l.brown@gmail.com.