FIBA U17 World Cup Notebook: Beckham Black, Omer Kutluay and the Prospects Turning Heads in Istanbul
Scouting notes and observations on the players who have separated themselves through the first two games of the tournament.
The FIBA U17 World Cup has long been one of my favorite events to scout. In an era where the basketball calendar is packed with showcases, camps, and international tournaments, the U17 World Cup remains one of the few events where you can see a large percentage of the top prospects from around the globe competing in the same setting. While the FIBA U19 World Cup is undoubtedly a premier event, it often loses many of the top prospects to the NBA Draft, leaving some of the world’s best young players absent from the competition. The U17 World Cup, on the other hand, provides an invaluable early look at the next wave of talent before the basketball world fully turns its attention toward them.
This year’s event, currently taking place in Istanbul, Türkiye is particularly special for me. Not only did I spend the 2016-17 season living in Istanbul, where I first fell in love with international basketball, but this tournament also serves as a valuable litmus test for many of the international prospects I’ve followed and evaluated over the past few years. The U17 World Cup gives me an opportunity to see these players compete against opponents they rarely face, particularly elite prospects from the United States and Canada, providing a different lens through which to evaluate their games.
More importantly, this tournament offers an early preview of the players who will dominate draft conversations in the years ahead. While the 2028 NBA Draft may still feel far away, there are numerous prospects in Istanbul this week whose names we’ll be discussing for years to come.
With that in mind, here are some of the players who have caught my attention through the first two games of the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup.
Beckham Black | USA | Point Guard
I’ve been watching Beckham Black for years.
Living in the Dallas area, I’ve had the opportunity to follow his development closely as the younger brother of Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black. For much of his young career, Beckham was known as “Anthony’s little brother,” but those days are quickly coming to an end.
Beckham is quickly creating a name for himself, and depending on who you ask, he may already be the top player in the country in the class of 2027. Through the first two games of the FIBA U17 World Cup, he’s shown exactly why he’s held in such high regard.
