A new era beckons for Australian basketball and the Boomers are confident they can usher it in without their two leading lights at the World Cup in Spain.
A new-found depth in the nation's ranks means even the absence of NBA stars Patty Mills and Andrew Bogut has failed to dent Australia's optimism heading into their tournament opener against Slovenia in Gran Canaria on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST).
And a squad blending the exciting youth of NBA draft picks Dante Exum and Cameron Bairstow with the experience of Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes has made no secret of its ambitious goal - an historic first World Cup medal.
"That's the goal and we're confident we can do that," said Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova, one of five NBA players in the squad.
"We've learned a lot from all our lead-up games and set a really good rhythm. We're ready to go."
Despite the unavailability of Mills and Bogut due to injury, coach Andrej Lemanis believes squad depth will be a strength of Australia's campaign.
A notable feature of Australia's thorough preparations, winning six of nine warm-up matches in Europe, was a collective contribution from the whole squad rather than one or two standout performers.
That, Lemanis says, will stand Australia in great stead for a gruelling group stage schedule of five games in six days.
"We certainly believe we do have good depth and that's how we like to play anyway," Lemanis said.
"We like to rotate a lot of bodies, get people in and keep them fresh on the court.
"Five games in six days is pretty taxing but we feel comfortable that we're in a position to deal with it."
The Boomers are in a winnable group also featuring Lithuania, Mexico, South Korea and Angola with the top four teams reaching the round of 16.
The Slovenians, spearheaded by NBA star Goran Dragic, and Lithuania loom as the toughest challenges but Lemanis warns there will be no easy games.
"I saw Korea play New Zealand live and I thought they were outstanding," Lemanis said.
"I'm a typical coach, I worry about everybody."
Much of the focus will be on 19-year-old rising star Exum, who was selected by Utah Jazz as fifth pick in this year's NBA draft.
He was used sparingly in warm-up games and is expected to play mainly as an impact player off the bench, with Turkey-based Ryan Broekhoff having locked down a starting spot with an impressive run of form in recent games.
Exum said he was not concerned about living up to the hype.
Exum is joined on the bench by the likes of fellow Utah recruit Brock Motum, former NBL star Nathan Jawai and veterans David Andersen and Brad Newley.
Regardless of Australia's performance in Spain, the team is only expected to get stronger heading towards Rio 2016 with exciting prospects Ben Simmons and Thon Maker considered unlucky to miss selection this time.
Despite missing its biggest NBA superstars, the USA are favourites to claim back-to-back titles, with hosts Spain rated a close second.
2014 FIBA WORLD CUP
Spain, August 30-September 14
Groups (Location of preliminary round matches)
Group A (Granada): Spain, Serbia, France, Brazil, Egypt, Iran
Group B (Seville): Philippines, Senegal, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Greece, Croatia
Group C (Barakaldo): Dominican Republic, Turkey, United States, Finland, New Zealand, Ukraine
Group D (Gran Canaria): Slovenia, Lithuania, Angola, South Korea, Mexico, Australia
Australian squad
David Andersen (Strasbourg), Cameron Bairstow (Chicago Bulls), Aron Baynes (San Antonio Spurs), Ryan Broekhoff (Besiktas), Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland Cavaliers), Dante Exum (Utah Jazz), Adam Gibson (Adelaide 36ers), Chris Goulding (CAI Zaragoza), Joe Ingles (Maccabi Tel-Aviv), Nathan Jawai (Galatasaray), Brock Motum (Bologna), Brad Newley (Gran Canaria).
2010 World Cup finish: 10th
Best World Cup finish: 5th (1982, 1994)
Odds: To win tournament $151, to win group $3
Overall odds: USA $1.60, Spain $2.50, Serbia $34, Brazil $34, Greece $34.
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