NBA free agency has died down and the 2023-24 NBA season is nearly three months away. This is why August is known as the dog days of the NBA calendar.

However, NBA fans will be able to watch some of their favorite players in action very soon, as the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow.

From Nov. 2021 through Feb. 2023, 80 countries battled for a spot in the World Cup but only 32 national teams qualified. There are a ton of NBA players participating, as Team USA has a talented young roster and they'll be facing stars such as Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen and Rudy Gobert.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

WHEN IS IT?

World Cup games will be played Aug. 25 through Sept. 10. There have been a number of warm-up games in recent weeks, but the real action tips off tomorrow.

First Round (Group Phase): Aug. 25-30
Second Round (Group Phase): Aug. 31 - Sept. 4
Quarterfinals: Sept. 5-6
Semifinals: Sept. 8
Final: Sept. 10
Third-Place Game: Sept. 10

The full schedule of games can be found here.

WHERE IS IT? 

For the first time ever, the FIBA Basketball World Cup will feature three host countries: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

WHICH COUNTRIES QUALIFIED?

These are the 32 countries that will be participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, United States and Venezuela.

These are the groups for the first round:

Group A: Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Italy

Group B:  South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto Rico

(Groups A and B will play their games at Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines)

Group C: Team USA, Jordan, Greece, New Zealand

Group D: Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania

(Groups C and D will play their games at Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines)

Group E: Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan

Group F: Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Venezuela

(Groups E and F will play their games at Okinawa Arena in Japan)

Group G: Iran, Spain, Cote d’Ivoire, Brazil

Group H: Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France

(Groups G and H will play their games at Jakarta Arena in Indonesia)

WHICH NBA PLAYERS ARE COMPETING?

There are quite a few NBA players participating in this tournament. The full list can be found here, but below are the national teams that feature notable NBA players:

Group A

Dominican Republic: Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lester Quinones (Golden State Warriors)

Philippines: Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz)

Group B

China: Kyle Anderson (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Serbia: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat)

Group C

Greece: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

United States: Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (New York Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)

Group D

Lithuania: Jonas Valanciunas (New Orleans Pelicans)

Montenegro: Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls)

Group E

Australia: Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Patty Mills (Atlanta Hawks), Matisse Thybulle (Portland Trail Blazers) Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks), Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans), Dante Exum (Dallas Mavericks), Jock Landale (Houston Rockets), Xavier Cooks (Washington Wizards)

Finland: Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)

Germany: Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Dennis Schroder (Toronto Raptors), Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers), 

Japan: Yuta Watanabe (Phoenix Suns)

Group F

Georgia: Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (San Antonio Spurs)

Slovenia: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)

Group G

Brazil: Raul Neto (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Spain: Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies), Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks)

Group H

Canada: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)

France: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Frank Ntilikina (Charlotte Hornets)

Latvia: Davis Bertans (Oklahoma City Thunder)

HOW TO WATCH

FIBA recently announced that all 92 World Cup games will be available across ESPN's platforms. Six games will air on ESPN2 (including Team USA's three first-round games), while the other 86 games will be available on ESPN+.

FIBA’s official streaming service, Courtside 1891, will also air the games live and on-demand. If you're interested in Courtside 1891, FIBA is offering our readers 20% off their World Cup bundle. Follow the instructions below if you'd like to use the 20% discount:

• Click this link and you’ll get a prompt to register
• You’ll then be redirected to the choose-a-package page
• Select the ‘Max – World Cup Bundle’ 
• Use the discount code FIBAWCAK to get 20% off

Enjoy the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and hopefully the dog days of summer will fly by quickly!