46-650: The British Basketball Federation , known as British Basketball , is the national sports governing body for basketball in Great Britain. It organises Great Britain teams for men and women in international competition. Northern Irish players normally compete for Ireland, but are also eligible to compete for the GB. The three home nations associations— Basketball England , basketballscotland and Basketball Wales —still have responsibility for basketball in their own countries, including organising competitions and developing
92-458: A big part in the spread of this sport to many countries, and as many as 21 teams competed in the first Olympic basketball tournament. Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen —a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Berlin Olympics on outdoor tennis courts. Dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top three teams. According to
138-402: A defeat in their opening fixture away to Montenegro 81–74, Great Britain earned a tough victory at home against Germany 81–73. The team went on to win three of their next four matches during the qualifying period, including a second win over Germany, which came at the buzzer to clinch a place into the finals. Drawn into Group C at the tournament, however, Great Britain would go winless for
184-441: A feisty Slovenia squad. However, the team was overmatched by the international experience those national sides possessed, and ultimately finished at the bottom of the group at (0–3) to be eliminated. During August 2010, Great Britain began their qualification campaign for EuroBasket 2011 . The team was drawn into Group B , containing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary , Macedonia , and Ukraine . Great Britain went on to finish at
230-491: A little momentum on their side, all the team needed to do was defeat Israel in the final match of group play. Ultimately, the team would come up short, losing in a close match at home 59–67, erasing any chance for Great Britain to advance. After Great Britain successfully made it through pre-qualifying for the EuroBasket 2022 , at an overall record of (7–1), the team advanced to the final round of qualifiers . Following
276-542: Is based in the offices of UK Sport . Great Britain men%27s national basketball team The Great Britain men's national basketball team (also known as GB Basketball or GB ) represents Great Britain in international basketball competitions. The national team is administered by British Basketball . The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national federations of England ( Basketball England ), Scotland ( Basketballscotland ), and Wales ( Basketball Wales ) on 1 December 2006. Prior to
322-526: The 2020 Games in Tokyo , extending their run to four consecutive gold medal finishes, and seven out of the last eight. The first women's tournament was staged in the 1976 Summer Olympics . The Soviet Union won five straight games, becoming the inaugural champion. The next two tournaments followed the six-team round-robin format, with the Soviets defending their title in 1980 amid the U.S.-led boycott, and
368-763: The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo , Japan , for both men and women. Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts , in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport. The popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was organized in 1932 in Geneva , Switzerland . The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) had
414-506: The IOC . The United States is by far the most successful country in Olympic basketball, with United States men's teams having won 17 of 20 tournaments in which they participated, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968 . United States women's teams have won 10 titles out of the 12 tournaments in which they competed, including eight in a row from 1996 to 2024 . Besides
460-590: The Soviet Union controversially won the gold medal game against the United States by one point. The U.S. team reclaimed the gold medal in 1976 , with Yugoslavia , which had beaten the Soviet Union in the semifinal, finishing runner-up for the second time. In 1980 , with the Americans' absence due to the boycott , Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in
506-595: The U.S. winning in 1984 , against the South Koreans , amid the Soviet-led boycott. In 1988 , the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. In 1992 , the Unified Team , consisting of the former Soviet republics , defeated China in the gold medal game. In 1996 , the tournament settled into its current 12-team format; the U.S. has swept all of
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#1732790604272552-774: The Argentines beating the Lithuanians in the bronze medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the U.S. again winning, although with the closest winning margin for the American team. The U.S. won again in 2016 , defeating the Serbians in the gold medal game, a rematch of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final , after eliminating the Spaniards, who settled for bronze. The American team defended their title by winning again at
598-514: The Division A level in 2008, they went through qualification for the EuroBasket 2009 . The team would eventually finish on top of Group D , which also included Bosnia and Herzegovina , Czech Republic and Israel to qualify for the finals. At the first Euro finals for Great Britain after the formation of British Basketball , the national team were drawn into a tough Group C , which featured European heavyweights Spain , and Serbia along with
644-525: The Euro finals, as they defeated Portugal 85–73. 24 hours after their first win, the team turned around and were victorious again; this time over Poland 88–81. Unfortunately, at a record of (2–3) in group play it would not be enough for Great Britain to advance. On 13 March 2011, FIBA voted 17–3 in favour of Great Britain receiving their host nation spot at the 2012 London Olympics with one condition, they had until 30 June 2012 to decide on whether to merge
690-461: The February qualifying window. With an (0–3) record, the team prepared for Greece once again, this time on the road. Although the outcome was similar, another loss for Great Britain, and putting the team in serious danger of being eliminated. Heading into the final window of the first round of qualifiers, the team notched their first victory during World Cup qualifying at home against Estonia. With
736-474: The GB team contained no Welsh players. For the 2012 Olympic Games , Great Britain was awarded automatic qualification. Entering the group stage, Great Britain struggled in their first two matches against Russia and Brazil , which resulted in loses. In Great Britain's third match of the tournament, they were up against a strong Spain side. However, after a monumental effort from the British, which nearly saw
782-646: The Olympic rules of that time, all of the competitors were amateurs . The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948 . The American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic tournaments through 1968 , without losing a single game. While the Americans were barred from sending a team that contained players from the professional National Basketball Association , they instead sent in college players; teams from some other countries sent in their best players, as some of their players were classified as "amateur" by FIBA, by earning allowances instead of wages. The U.S. winning streak ended in 1972 , when
828-419: The Olympics. In the 1992 Summer Olympics , the U.S. "Dream Team" won the gold medal with an average winning margin of 44 points per game, and without calling a timeout. By this time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia no longer existed, but their successor states continued to be among the leading forces. Two newly independent countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, Croatia and Lithuania , won
874-672: The Summer Olympics Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936 . Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as an unofficial demonstration event in 1904 and 1924 . Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976 . FIBA organizes both the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the Summer Olympics basketball tournaments, which are sanctioned by
920-457: The U.S. was interrupted in 2004 , when the Americans barely made it to the semifinal, after losing to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the preliminaries; Argentina defeated them in the semifinals, on their way to a gold medal finish, where they beat Italy in the final, and became the fourth team to win the Olympic title. The Americans regrouped in 2008 , beating the reigning FIBA world champions , Spain , in an intense gold medal game, with
966-574: The U20 and senior age groups in FIBA competitions. In order for GB teams to compete in the London Olympics in 2012, FIBA had insisted that a single governing body for Great Britain be formed, rather than the existing three separate home nations. England, Scotland and Wales continued to compete separately in youth competitions. Basketball Wales rejected a full merger in 2012, so the new governing body
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#17327906042721012-642: The United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence which has won both the men's and the women's tournament. The Soviet Union , Yugoslavia and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament. The United States are the defending champions in both men's and women's tournaments. On 9 June 2017, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee announced that 3x3 basketball would become an official Olympic sport as of
1058-519: The event at (1–7) overall. After hosting the 1948 Olympic Games, Great Britain were not represented at the Olympic tournament in 1952 or 1956 due to FIBA and the IOC not yet holding a qualifying event. Although spanning from 1960 to 1992, Great Britain failed to qualify for the competition. After London won the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics , the organisers wanted competitive teams in every sport, including basketball. A Great Britain side
1104-428: The finals, Great Britain were drawn in the "group of death" with Belgium , Latvia , Russia , Serbia , and one of the tournament hosts, Turkey . Despite some close performances, GB lost all five of their matches to finish at the bottom of Group D . After the tournament Tony Garbelotto took over as head coach of the national team from Joe Prunty . For the process to reach the 2019 FIBA World Cup , Great Britain
1150-418: The financial struggles had affected the team. After missing the Euro finals in 2015, Great Britain were eager to qualify for EuroBasket 2017 . During the qualifiers, the team was placed into Group G , where they needed to finish in the top two in their group to reach qualification. The team eventually succeeded in the process, only finishing behind Hungary , to reach the tournament for the fourth time. At
1196-427: The game 90–58, making it only the second Olympic victory all-time for Great Britain. Throughout the tournament British star Luol Deng played 173 minutes, more than any other player and also came in the top ten for points and assists. In June 2013, Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Joe Prunty was announced as the new head coach of the national team, following the resignation of Chris Finch . Having participated in
1242-510: The host for the 1948 London Olympics . The team was placed into Group A to begin the tournament . Although with the advantage of being at home on their side, the team did not capitalize. Great Britain were thoroughly outplayed in their first fixture against Uruguay , and eventually finished last in group play at (0–5). The outcome relegated the national team to the classification round. There they recorded their first tournament victory against Ireland , but fell in their next two matches, to wrap up
1288-518: The ideology of the pure amateur , as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally listed in the military, but all of whom were in fact paid by the state to train full-time. In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stanković , FIBA approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, including
1334-633: The merger, England, Scotland, and Wales competed independently during international play except for Olympic events. Great Britain have qualified for the top European tournament, EuroBasket , five times ( 2009 , 2011 , 2013 , 2017 , 2022 ). Although before or since the alliance, no British team in history has ever qualified for the FIBA World Cup . However, Great Britain has competed at the Olympic Games twice ( 1948 , 2012 ), in which they hosted. The Great Britain national team debuted as
1380-481: The opening match for Great Britain, they were pitted against the host Lithuania . However, Luol Deng, and his game high 25 points for the British was not enough to pull the upset as the team fell to (0–1). Following Great Britain's tough opening match loss to the Lithuanians, the British were handed two heavy defeats in their next two fixtures against Turkey , and Spain. However, heading into their fourth match of group play Team GB would earn their first ever victory at
1426-570: The previous Olympic tournament, Great Britain qualified automatically for EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia. They went into the finals short-handed: Luol Deng was recovering from illness, Pops Mensah-Bonsu did not participate due to an injury and Joel Freeland was also absent, citing commitments with his club. Despite this, Great Britain won their first match against Israel in overtime, but subsequently lost to France and Belgium . Winning their fourth group game against favoured Germany put them on
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1472-2634: The second consecutive EuroBasket to finish in last place. Win Loss Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 21 and 24 November 2024 against Greece . 1948 Olympic Games : finished 20th among 23 teams 3 Lionel Price , 4 Robert Norris , 5 Stanley Weston , 6 Trevor Davies , 7 Malcolm Finlay (C) , 8 Colin Hunt , 9 Frank Cole , 10 Douglas Legg , 11 Ronald Legg , 12 Harry Weston , 13 Alex Eke , 14 Stanley McMeekan , 15 Sydney McMeekan (Coach: Malcolm Finlay) 2009 EuroBasket : finished 13th among 16 teams 4 Jarrett Hart , 5 Kieron Achara , 6 Mike Lenzly , 7 Pops Mensah-Bonsu , 8 Andrew Sullivan (C) , 9 Nick George , 10 Robert Archibald , 11 Joel Freeland , 12 Nate Reinking , 13 Daniel Clark , 14 Flinder Boyd , 15 Andrew Betts (Coach: Chris Finch ) 2011 EuroBasket : finished 13th among 24 teams 4 Ogo Adegboye , 5 Andrew Lawrence , 6 Mike Lenzly , 7 Devon van Oostrum , 8 Andrew Sullivan (C) , 9 Luol Deng , 10 Robert Archibald , 11 Joel Freeland , 12 Nate Reinking , 13 Daniel Clark , 14 Eric Boateng , 15 Kyle Johnson (Coach: Chris Finch ) 2012 Olympic Games : finished 9th among 12 teams 4 Kieron Achara , 5 Andrew Lawrence , 6 Mike Lenzly , 7 Pops Mensah-Bonsu , 8 Andrew Sullivan (C) , 9 Luol Deng (C) , 10 Robert Archibald , 11 Joel Freeland , 12 Nate Reinking , 13 Daniel Clark , 14 Kyle Johnson , 15 Eric Boateng (Coach: Chris Finch ) 2013 EuroBasket : finished 13th among 24 teams 4 Kieron Achara , 5 Andrew Lawrence , 6 Justin Robinson , 7 Devon van Oostrum , 8 Andrew Sullivan (C) , 9 Gareth Murray , 10 Myles Hesson , 11 Alasdair Fraser, 12 Daniel Clark , 13 Ogo Adegboye , 14 Eric Boateng , 15 Kyle Johnson (Coach: Joe Prunty ) 2017 EuroBasket : finished 22nd among 24 teams 0 Jules Dang-Akodo , 1 Kyle Johnson , 3 Ben Mockford , 4 Andrew Lawrence , 5 Teddy Okereafor , 10 Daniel Clark , 11 Gareth Murray , 13 Eric Boateng , 19 Luke Nelson , 20 Kieron Achara (C) , 26 Gabriel Olaseni , 44 Kofi Josephs (Coach: Joe Prunty ) 2022 EuroBasket : finished 24th among 24 teams 00 Ovie Soko , 0 Gabriel Olaseni , 3 Ben Mockford , 6 Luke Nelson , 10 Daniel Clark (C) , 13 Kavell Bigby-Williams , 22 Myles Hesson , 23 Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, 24 Carl Wheatle , 32 Patrick Whelan, 33 Jamell Anderson , 77 Devon van Oostrum (Coach: Nate Reinking ) Basketball at
1518-548: The semifinals and Italy in the final. The Americans regained the title in 1984 , by beating Spain in the final, with the Soviets boycotting this time. The Soviets won the gold medal for the second time in 1988 , after beating the U.S. team for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game. The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries eroded
1564-715: The silver and bronze medals respectively. The American team repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000 , but its performance was not as dominant as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to compete in the Summer Olympics, the 1996 Games in Atlanta is the only instance where the Olympic host city also had a home NBA team — the Hawks . Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney , with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions. The renewed dominance of
1610-659: The sport. The British & Irish Basketball Federation (BIBF) was formed in 1960 from funding from the Sports Council . Northern Ireland began to be represented by Basketball Ireland , and in 2004 Ireland left the BIBF. In October 2004 the BIBF changed its name to Great Britain Basketball. In December 2006 the British Basketball Federation (BBF) was formed, and GB teams replaced England in
1656-468: The team had failed to qualify for the tournament. This outcome was largely attributed to British Basketball no longer receiving funding from UK Sport ; efficiencies had to be made, including cancelling training camps. Further, the team was unable to secure the participation of players such as Luol Deng due to insurance costs, which in turn affected performance, and put the future of the Great Britain team in doubt. Forward Kieron Achara spoke out about how
1702-412: The team pull off a historic upset; they would ultimately succumb to the eventual tournament runners-up 79–78. After the draining loss, Great Britain were completely overwhelmed in their fourth fixture of the tournament; in a disastrous defeat to Australia 75–106. In their final group play game, Great Britain faced China , with both teams already unable to progress to the knockout stage. Team GB would win
1748-519: The three nations that make up the team or disband after the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On 21 June 2012, Basketball Wales confirmed their intent to reject the proposed merger on the grounds that the arrangement was always intended to be temporary in the build-up to the London Olympics, and that it would not be in the best interests for the sport in Wales for the country to forfeit its national team, when
1794-426: The top of the group, and qualified for their second appearance at the finals overall. Heading into their second Euro finals appearance, the British were determined to display a better performance than in 2009. Being drawn into the tournament's Group A , the mindset was different this time around. Many of the players from the previous finals appearance had more experience, which the team used as optimism entering 2011. In
1840-485: The top two European and American teams, and the top team from Africa, Asia and Oceania. The next 16 best teams from the FIBA World Cup will join the two teams from each continent at the Olympic qualifiers. It will feature four groups of six teams, where the best team of each group will get the remaining spots at the Olympics. The continental championships will no longer be used for Olympic qualifying. Updated after
1886-441: The tournaments since then, winning 61 consecutive games. All venues were indoor stadiums except for the 1936 tournament, which was held outdoors on lawn tennis courts. As of 2012 , the qualifying process consists of three stages: Additionally, the teams of the host nation qualify automatically. In 2020, the men's tournament will have a new qualification system. After the 2019 FIBA World Cup , seven teams will qualify directly:
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1932-432: The verge of advancing to the second round of the tournament for the first time in their history. The team went into their final group game against Ukraine needing to win, but Ukraine had been performing better than expected and dispatched Britain 87–68. The team finished equaling their record from the previous tournament , with Daniel Clark leading Great Britain in scoring and defence. Following their tournament exit it
1978-462: Was announced that the governing body for British sports, UK Sport , were to cut the funding for the team after failing to reach the agreed-upon minimum final placing in the tournament. Funding from UK Sport would have been used to aid the team's efforts to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro . For qualification to the 2015 Euro finals , a defeat to Iceland on 20 August meant that
2024-488: Was formed for the first time since 1992 on 1 December 2006. The new team secured the help of the NBA 's Chicago Bulls ' star Luol Deng , as he led the national team to promotion from EuroBasket Division B to Division A. FIBA stated that Great Britain had to improve their competitiveness prior to being granted the spot in the Olympic tournament that would normally be reserved for the host nation. In Great Britain's first cycle at
2070-531: Was initially formed by just England Basketball (now Basketball England ) and basketballscotland . Wales eventually agreed to join the new federation in 2015. The merger was formally completed in October 2016, and the home nations gave up their individual memberships of FIBA. Great Britain national teams now compete in all age groups from U16 to senior, with Scotland and Wales still able to field separate teams in some lower division youth competitions. The federation
2116-479: Was placed into Group H during the first round of World Cup qualifiers. However, in their first match at home against Greece , the team would fall in a crushing hard fought affair in overtime 92–95. In their next qualifying fixture, the team would drop another one, on the road this time at Estonia . After the loss, Tony Garbelotto resigned as head coach of Great Britain, and was replaced by Alberto Lorenzo, prior to their next match which they lost at Israel ; during
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