A total of eight matches were played on the first matchday of the World Cup. Among them, there are many players who have played impressively.
Below is the shortlist of the best players on the first day of the World Cup and the final winners selected by Sohu Sports (Note: a total of 5 people are nominated, and 1 Daily Star is selected from these 5 candidates).
Nominee 1: Patti Mills (Australia)
In Australia's 98-72 win over Finland, Australian guard Patti Mills played exceptionally well and became the number one contributor to the Australian men's basketball team's win. He played 28:44 and shot 11-of-22 for a game-high 25 points. Not only scoring, Mills also recorded 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals to fill the stat column, and the plus-minus value reached +33 championships.
You know, Mills fell into a career low with the Nets last season, playing in just 40 games throughout the season, averaging only 6.2 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game, scoring a new low since 2013-14. This summer, Mills was involved in a series of trades, and after being sent away by the Nets, he handled the Rockets, then the Thunder, and finally settled with the Hawks.
Arguably, as a 35-year-old veteran, Mills' career in the NBA has shown some signs of entering the countdown.
But once he returned to the international arena, once he put on the Australian shirt, Mills still let people see the power of his "big killer" in the international arena again. In the national team, because of his own focused offensive tactics and enough support from his teammates, Mills can finally display his scoring talent without restraint and worry.
Nominee 2: Nicolas Vucevic (Montenegro)
On the first matchday of the World Cup, the Montenegrin men's basketball team beat Mexico 91-71 to usher in a good start. On the Montenegrin side, Nicolas Vučevic, the core of the interior line, completely unleashed his fighting power, completely destroying Mexico's three-second zone defense. In fact, after the opening game, Takeshin quickly used his personal ability to set the tone for Montenegro's victory, scoring eight consecutive points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first three minutes.
In the whole game, Vucevic played 30 minutes, shooting 11 of 15, 3 of 3 from three-point range, and efficiently cut 27 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, with a plus-minus of +26.
Nominee 3: Moritz Wagner (Germany)
In a match in Group E, Germany easily beat Japan 81-63. In this battle, German striker Moritz Wagner showed high energy. He played 24 minutes off the bench, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range, scoring 25 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block, becoming the hero of Germany's victory.
Unlike his younger brother Franz Wagner, the elder Wagner can only play as a substitute for both the Orlando Magic and the national team. But over the past year, Wagner's career has come to an upswing, and he was offered a two-year contract extension from the Magic this summer. And the elder Wagner also continued this good momentum to the World Cup, and in his World Cup debut, he became the most eye-catching man in the game.
Nominee 4: Carl Anthony Towns (Dominica)
In a highlight event in the evening, Dominica narrowly defeated the Philippines 87-81. This was the first time that Towns represented the Dominican senior national team in an official international competition. But in his debut for the national team, Downs' performance was a twist and turn, and Downs' form was slightly weaker in the first half under the fierce pursuit and interception of the Philippines. But entering the second half, Towns was murderous, causing fouls again and again in a hard-hitting manner, and also hit key layups and grabbed important rebounds in the final decisive stage.
Throughout the game, Towns played 25 minutes, and although he shot only 5 of 16 and 1 of 5 three-pointers, he led the Dominican men's basketball team to retire from the home court of the Philippines with his efficient play on 15-of-16 shooting at the free throw line and a double-double output of 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Star of the Day winner: Shay Giljes-Alexander (Canada)
In the last match, Canada somewhat unexpectedly beat France by 30 points 95-65. Looking back at this game, the two sides were still tight in the first half, but entering the second half, the situation was completely different.
Throughout the third quarter, Canada played a 25-7 offensive frenzy, completely dousing the momentum of the French men's basketball team. And it was Gilges Alexander, the core of Canada, who instigated this climax. In this quarter, he first pulled the defensive attention to assist Dillon to shoot a three-pointer, and then he used his jump shot and breakthrough stunt to stop the game with eight consecutive points.
However, after the timeout, Alexander's hand became more and more hot, he hit another negative angle jumper, and also shot a long three-point shot from the outside, and the suspense of victory and defeat was killed in one operation.
Alexander made amazing progress in the NBA last season, and by the end of the season, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and already showed some super-big temperament. But Alexander was clearly not satisfied with his NBA achievements, and this summer, he volunteered to join the Canadian national team.
In the first game of the World Cup, Alexander conquered the audience with a big explosion in the third quarter and an amazing play of 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, and he seemed to use this game to declare that the Canadian men's basketball team he led was the strongest blocker of the American team on the road to the championship.
On the first matchday of the World Cup, Alexander also stole everyone's limelight and became the brightest star of the day...
