What’s Coming for Basketball Fans Later This Year

The 2nd biggest sport in the US, basketball also enjoys popularity with fans around the world thanks to its fast-paced action, high scoring and incredible athleticism of its players. Each year there are many great events that fans look forward to, both in the NBA as well as international basketball. 

Below are some of the biggest basketball events to look out for later this year. 

NBA Finals  

By far the biggest event in the basketball calendar is the NBA Finals. The culmination of the regular NBA season, it sees the two teams who made it through the earlier stages of the playoffs, face each other in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four taking home the NBA Championship. 

The first of the 2023 Finals games will take place on the 1st June and potentially go to the 18th if all seven games are necessary. Recent winners of the NBA Finals include the LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and most recently, the Golden State Warriors, who have been particularly dominant in the last decade, winning four of the last eight championships. 

NBA Draft

Just like in the NFL, the draft in the NBA is a big deal and something that fans of the sport look forward to each year. Unlike a lot of other sports, where players are simply signed during the off-season, the NBA draft is an event in itself. 

The way the draft is structured makes it so the lowest ranking teams have the best chance of getting the first pick. This is to ensure fairness and try to prevent certain teams from establishing an unfair advantage over others. In order to be eligible for the NBA draft, players must be at least 19 years of age and have been out of high school for at least one year. 

The 2023 NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 22nd. 

NBA Summer League 

An 11-day off-season competition that takes place after the regular NBA season, the NBA Summer League gives teams a chance to try out more experimental line-ups that often include rookies and bench players. 

Although all 30 teams take place in the Summer League, it’s unusual to see star players or even starters in the line-ups for these games. It is, however, an excellent way to watch the future stars of the NBA in action and make your voice heard by betting on sites like Powerplay Ontario.

FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023

Held every four years since 1950, The FIBA Basketball World Cup has a prestigious history and this year’s event is set to be one of the biggest yet. It’s going to be held across Indonesia, Japan and the Phillipines and will take place from 25th August to 10th September. 

It will see 32 teams from across the globe fighting for the biggest prize in international basketball. Up until 2014, the FIBA Basketball World Cup was held in the same year as the FIFA World Cup but it was moved to a new 

Some of the countries competing in this year’s event include France, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, USA and Italy.  Spain are the most recent champions, defeating Argentina at the 2019 World Cup by 95-75. 

EuroBasket Women 2023

EuroBasket is one of the biggest international basketball events. The men’s competition took place in 2022, with the women’s event set to take place this year in Israel and Slovenia from June 15-25th. 16 international teams from across Europe will compete, with each being separated into groups of four. 

The first Women’s EuroBasket goes all the way back to 1938 and has been held every two years since. The 2023 event is sure to attract a lot of attention from fans across the world and one that you don’t want to miss. 

EuroLeague Final Four 

Another big event in the European basketball calendar is the EuroLeague Final Four. It sees clubs’ teams from across the EuroLeague competing in a final four format to determine the champions. 

Turkish teams have had a lot of success in the Final Four in recent years, with Anadolu Efes winning the two most recent competitions. This year’s Final Four will take place at stadiums across Europe from May 19th to 21st. 

WNBA Finals 

Although the women’s game doesn’t get nearly the same level of attention as the NBA in the States, it’s still a great competition that more and more people are tuning into each year. Just like the NBA, the WNBA has playoffs and finals that take place after the regular season. 

The 2023 playoffs for the WNBA start on the 13th September with the last potential finals game set for October 20th. 

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