The first official action of the highly-anticipated 2014 FIBA World Cup will soon take place.
The National Basketball Association, the breeding ground of Team USA Basketball's official roster, has announced on Twitter that ESPN Networks have joined forces to carry every single game beginning August 30 of the international competition live from Spain.
This means that all 63 games will be broadcast live by ESPN3, while ESPN2 and ESPN will focus on Team USA's games only.
For live streaming, you can check out your local subscription or go to ESPN's website. You can also check out foreign international team's offerings that are usually catered to their country residents.
Livebasketball.tv powered by LiveSport also offers live streaming services.
Meanwhile, here is the schedule for Day 1 (August 30) of the FIBA World Cup Pool Play according to FIBA.com:
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Group |
| Aug. 30 | 6:30 a.m. | Croatia vs. Philippines | B |
| 6:30 a.m. | Ukraine vs. Dominican Republic | C | |
| 7:30 a.m. | Angola vs. South Korea | D | |
| 9:30 a.m. | Egypt vs. Serbia | A | |
| 10:00 a.m. | New Zealand vs. Turkey | C | |
| 11:30 a.m. | Austria vs. Slovenia | D | |
| 11:30 a.m. | Puerto Rico vs. Argentina | B | |
| Noon | France vs. Brazil (NBA TV) | A | |
| 2:00 p.m. | Mexico vs. Lithuania | D | |
| 2:00 p.m. | Greece vs. Senegal | B | |
| 3:30 p.m. | United States vs. Finland (ESPN) | C | |
| 4:00 p.m. | Iran vs. Spain | A |
Demarcus Cousins, Stephen Curry, Rudy Gay, Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Mason Plumlee, Derrick Rose, Andre Drummond, Kenneth Faried and Klay Thompson will be facing the heavyweights Spain, Argentina and Brazil, who have long been dominating international basketball for quite some time.
The Guardian noted that coach Mike Krzyzewski and USA Bastketball chairman, Jerry Colangelo, have opted to tap four big men to ensure that they have enough people to challenge the equally tall and formidable players of other countries.
The United States will first play against one of its Group C competitors, Finland, on Saturday, and Bleacher Report predicted that the team could win in its group before squaring off Team Spain. Team Spain is currently the team to beat with Gasol brothers and Ibaka, in addition to Jose Calderon and Ricky Rubio in the backcourt.
On the other hand, Picks.org believed that Team USA might also need to watch out for Lithuania, though the team is deemed an "underdog." With the hulking menace of Houston Rockets' Donatas Motiejunas and Toronto Raptors' Jonas Valanciunas and the fact that the team has managed to place second in the Eurobasket tournament last year, Team USA should not rest on their laurels.
Another Cinderella in the running, Picks.org said, is Greece. The team has an average height of 6'8", and might feature guard Nick Calathes and wing-expert Kostas Papanikolaou, who have been deemed veterans in international basketball.
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