ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - USA's Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje was named the TISSOT Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 after leading his country to their eighth consecutive cadet world title.
Boumtje Boumtje was a dominant force all tournament with his exciting mix of inside and outside skills from the forward position. He collected 20 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in USA's 107-81 victory over Serbia in the Final. For the competition, he averaged 19.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals.
Boumtje Boumtje was joined on the All-Star Five by USA teammate Beckham Black, Nikola Kusturica of Serbia, Luke Paul from third-placed Australia and Omer Kutluay from Türkiye.
Black contributed 12 points, 10 assists and 3 steals in the Final, and for the tournament the point guard tallied 12.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
Nikola Kusturica delivered at the highest level for Serbia throughout the tournament, leading his team to the silver medal. He averaged 24.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He also set a new U17 World Cup Final record by scoring 37 points.
Paul was Australia's leader in helping the country reach the podium with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks in the Third Place Game. The point guard averaged 15.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
Kutluay was outstanding throughout in front of his home fans but he couldn't help Türkiye get to the podium. They lost to Australia in the Third Place Game despite Kutluay's 32 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. For the event, he had 28.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.
FIBA