What to Watch For At the 2025 FIBA Americup

FIBA Americas biggest competition begins this Saturday and while Team USA is the prohibitive favorite, there's plenty of interesting things to keep an eye out for. Here's what we're watching...

A quick programming note: Ball Up Top will be delayed for a day due to some schedules with our crew. But rest assured, the pod will be in your inbox tomorrow.

In the meantime, let’s talk some FIBA Women’s Americup, which gets rolling in Santiago, Chile this Saturday. There’s legitimate stakes at play here as the top six teams do advance to the qualifying tournaments of the 2026 FIBA World Cup which will be held in Germany. Brazil are the defending champions of the Americup, having beaten the Americans in 2023 on the back of a 20 point, 11 rebound performance by Kamilla Cardoso.

Usually, Team USA uses this tournament to give some of the top college players some senior team international experience. The 2023 roster included the likes of Rickea Jackson, Lauren Betts, Angel Reese, Deja Kelly and Raven Johnson, to name a few. This year’s roster may be even better.

So let’s dive into some things to watch for and who to keep an eye on. If you prefer to watch or listen over reading, we have a link to our preview which you can find on YouTube here.

The Golden Generation of Guards Is Here For Team USA

I was down in Colorado Springs for day two of the Team USA trials (you can find the practice dispatch here and our player interviews here) and the takeaway was simple: USA basketball is in the midst of a golden generation of guards. Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers are already in the WNBA and will likely be in the mix for Team USA nods for the World Cup next year but the next group up is absolutely insane. Consider the current roster for the Americup…

Mikayla Blakes, Flau’jae Johnson, Gianna Kneepkens, Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo and Kennedy Smith.

And that’s without Azzi Fudd, JuJu Watkins and MiLaysia Fulwiley (who has been tearing it up with USA 3x3).

The American frontcourt is going to see a substantial challenge especially against Brazil and possibly Canada but you could take the best guards out of every country in this tournament, put them on an all-star team and it still wouldn’t touch Team USA. What makes the Americup so worth watching if you’re a women’s basketball fan is you get to see backcourt combos that you may never see again. Flau’jae and Mikayla Blakes? Potentially Olivia AND Hannah together again? Future L.A. rivals Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA) and Kennedy Smith (USC)? It’s all there.

For the last handful of years, the stars of the sport have typically been frontcourt players. A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart or even risers like Satou Sabally are a mix of long, tall and athletic who can score at all three levels. But now it feels like there’s a revolution of guards coming up that will completely transform the game and how we see it. Combine them with the incredible frontcourt options already in the W and you might see a continuation of American dominance internationally even with other nations starting to catch up.

Brazil will be a tough out again…

The Brazilians pulled off a shock title win over the Americans in 2023, winning in the gold medal game 69-58. It’s worth noting that both teams were in a group with one another earlier in the tournament and Brazil won that won too. In both matchups, the clear star was Kamilla Cardoso. She’s back this year, taking some time away from the Chicago Sky to play for her national team. Indiana Fever center Damiris Dantas will joining her alongside a couple of interesting college players as well.

South Carolina fans are going to want to keep an eye on Ayla McDowell, who is representing the Brazilians before returning to Columbia for her freshman year. The 6’2 wing from Texas was a five star recruit and the #15 overall recruit in the class of 2025. Alongside Agot Makeer, McDowell is one of the jewels of Dawn Staley’s recruiting class and I’m expecting to see some flashes of brilliance in this tournament. Manu Alves is another incoming freshman to the college game that will be joining the team in Chile. Brazil also has a pair of solid NCAA guards in William & Mary leading scorer Bella Nascimento and Oregon State’s Catarina Ferreira who is good for a double-double on any given night.

What’s interesting about the roster is the mix of youth and experience. The guards are, for the most part, pretty seasoned in international play while the wings and frontcourt have the energy, athleticism and college experience to know what they’re going to get against the Americans. While I think Team USA’s backcourt is so good that they will beat anyone in their path, I have a funny feeling that Brazil is going to give them a bit of trouble once again.

Can a new look Canada show us something?

After a disastrous 2024 Olympic campaign, the Canadians decided to revamp their coaching staff and hired former Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner. For the uninitiated, Fortner is a longtime NCAA coach that has won *a lot* of games at just about every stop. But more importantly for Canada, she’s got a wealth of international experience, winning the 1998 FIBA World Cup and 2000 Olympics with Team USA. It’s clear that the land up north doesn’t want to mess around with a golden generation of their own and require a coach that’s going to get the most out of them.

This Canadian roster is really interesting and I have a feeling they’ll probably be in the mix for a gold medal by the time July rolls around. I’m really interested in the amount of NCAA talent on this roster as well as a couple of veterans that can guide the newbies. BYU’s Delaney Gibb was a revelation last season, even while flying under the radar of national media attention. Savvy Swords, the younger sister of Michigan guard Syla, is on the roster as well.

But the player that I’m particularly excited to see is 6’8 former Oregon center Phillipina Kyei. She came to Eugene as an exceedingly raw recruit and has incrementally improved each and every year. The possibilities for her are endless and if Fortner can get the most out of her at the international level, she can become a major force multiplier for Team Canada for years to come.

How much of a dark horse is Argentina?

Argentina is always a little tricky to evaluate because so many of their players ply their trade within domestic South American leagues or take their talents to Spain. They’re regularly competitive in the South American championships (they won gold in 2024) and finished with a bronze in the 2023 Pan-Am Games. The issue is that their top players are starting to age out and there isn’t a massive youth movement coming up the way that other countries are enjoying right now.

The national team has a core of four players that are all past the age of 30 in Diana Cabrera, Andrea Boquete, Agostina Burani and Melisa Gretter. They’ve enjoyed plenty of success at a variety of levels and particularly at the international level but I’m curious if the rest of the roster — primarily comprised of players entering their prime playing ages — has what it takes to augment their veteran core. What feels unique about the Americup this year is the amount of energy Team USA is going to bring in the backcourt. Hidalgo, Johnson, Miles, Blakes and co. are sparkplugs. The way other teams will compete is by either meeting their pace or forcing them to slow down. What will Argentina’s plan be for that?

The WNBA’s Latina Revolution is Coming…

What makes the Americup so good this season is seeing just how much the game is catching on in Central and South America. While a big portion of that push is a result of American-born players going back to their heritage countries, there is a lot of grassroots growth happening within each country individually.

Team USA is always better as a result of enhanced competition within their confederations and American dominance is clearly starting to kick other nations basketball federations in gear in a way it hasn’t been in the past. But beyond that, the possible WNBA influx of Latina players feels like a potential cultural revolution the likes of which the league hasn’t seen before. Generally, the W has been a league primarily comprised of Black women with a good percentage of White players. While European players have always been a part of the calculus, there have always been substantial minorities within the WNBA itself. There aren’t many Asian-American or Asian born players, Native players can be counted on one hand while it’s still somewhat rare to see Hispanic players in the league too.

But the latter is changing and fast.

Cardoso and Dantas are leading the charge from South America while UCLA star Gabriela Jaquez will likely be representing the Mexican national team as she did in 2024, Trinity San Antonio will remain a key star for Puerto Rico after an Olympic debut in Paris. The Dominican Republic’s young prodigy, 22 year old Cesarina Capellan, has been playing professionally in Spain for quite some time and may draw the eyes of WNBA scouts depending on her performance this summer. That’s before you get to American players like Hannah Hidalgo, who has a Dominican background herself.

As the demographics of the United States start to shift, it’s been an under-the-radar but fascinating story to follow. With the rise of Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, paired with a bevy of talent across FIBA Americas, there may be a new culture of fans and players entering the WNBA in the coming years.