Nigeria men's national basketball team
The Nigeria national basketball team represents Nigeria in men's international basketball and it is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). It is generally considered to be one of the best national basketball teams in the FIBA Africa zone, along with Angola and Senegal. Nigeria has been ranked 16th in the FIBA World Rankings since the 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Rio, making them the top climber in FIBA rankings from 2015.[2]
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| FIBA ranking | 22  1 (9 December 2020)[1] | ||
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| Joined FIBA | 1964 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Africa | ||
| National federation | Nigeria Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | Mike Brown Alexander Nwora | ||
| Nickname(s) | D'Tigers | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 2 | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 | ||
| AfroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 18 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2015) Silver: (1997, 1999, 2003, 2017) Bronze: (1995, 2005, 2011) | ||
| All Africa Games | |||
| Appearances | 8 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2011) Bronze: (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015) | ||
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Nigeria is the only African nation to ever qualify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. This was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams of Lithuania and Greece. In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion of Africa.
History
The history of basketball in Nigeria goes as far back as the late 1950s when Walid Zabadne served as the first basketball coach to train Nigerians. At the time, Nigeria's only basketball court was situated in the Syrian Club. Walid Zabadne continued teaching young Nigerians to become basketballers and when Nigeria's basketball federation was organized, he took them to several basketball competitions across Africa. In view of his role as the pioneer of basketball in Nigeria, Walid Zabadne has been deemed “father of Nigerian basketball’’. Also worthy of note is that Zabadne was later made the president of the Nigerian basketball federation.
Nigeria's national basketball team joined FIBA in 1964. Recently, the team has enjoyed success, due to an increasing amount of talents from Nigeria as well as an orchestrated recruitment of American college and professional players of Nigerian descent. A team dominated by Nigerian-Americans qualified for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, marking only the second time in the country's history that they qualified to the FIBA World Cup. The national basketball team of Nigeria usually play their home games at the 3,000-capacity Indoor Sports Hall in Lagos.[3][4]
Eight players on the team that represented Nigeria at the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket tournament were born in the United States. Nigeria also qualified to the 2012 Summer Olympics.
2006 FIBA World Championship
Nigeria took part in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. They were drawn in Group A with Argentina, France, Lebanon, Serbia and Montenegro, and Venezuela. They surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated by Germany in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the same record as the defending world champion Serbia and Montenegro.
2012 Summer Olympics
Nigeria competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their victory coming against Tunisia, making the first ever Olympic game the first ever Olympic victory.
Performance table
Olympic Games
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 10 | 2012 Summer Olympics | London, United Kingdom |
| 2016 | 11 | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 2020 | Qualified | 2020 Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan |
FIBA World Cup
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 13 | 1998 FIBA World Championship | Athens, Greece |
| 2006 | 14 | 2006 FIBA World Championship | Japan |
| 2019 | 17 | 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup | China |
| 2023 | To be determined | 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup | Philippines, Japan and Indonesia |
FIBA Africa Championship
African Games
- 1973 : ?
- 1987 : ?
- 1995 :
- 1999 :
- 2003 :
- 2007 :
- 2011 :
- 2015 :
- 2019 : To be determined
FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
- 2013:
- 2016:
Commonwealth Games
- 2006 : 4th
- 2018 : 5th
Team honours and achievements
Intercontinental
- FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
- Bronze: 2013, 2016
- Bronze:
- Basketball at the Commonwealth Games
- Fourth-place: 2006
Continental
Team
Current roster
Nigeria national basketball team – 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ekpe Udoh | Micheal Eric | Udoka Azubuike |
| PF | Ike Diogu | Chimezie Metu | Talib Zanna |
| SF | Al-Farouq Aminu | Stan Okoye | Jordan Nwora |
| SG | Josh Okogie | Gabe Vincent Nnamdi | |
| PG | Ben Uzoh | Ike Iroegbu |
Other NBA players of Nigerian descent
Head coaches
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Vladislav Lučić 1975–1980
Sam Vincent 2004–2006
Sani Ahmed 2006- Robert McCullum 2007
- John Lucas II 2009
- Sani Ahmed 2010, 2013
- Ayo Bakare 2011–2014
- William Voigt 2015–2017[5]
- Alexander Nwora 2017–present[6] Associate Headcoach from 2020–present.
- Mike Brown 2020–Present[7]
Notable players
Several players of the Nigeria national team have had success playing for professional teams, in the NBA, or in Europe, including:
- Julius Nwosu
- Akin Akingbala
- Peter Aluma
- Aloysius Anagonye
- Tunji Awajobi
- Ike Diogu
- Obinna Ekezie
- Ebi Ere
- Benjamin Eze
- Ekene Ibekwe
- Gani Lawal
- Michael Olowokandi
- Olumide Oyedeji
- Ime Udoka
- Jeff Varem
- Al-Farouq Aminu
- Festus Ezeli
- Eyo Effiong
Hakeem Olajuwon never played for Nigeria at the international senior level,[8] and would eventually play for the United States, after becoming a US citizen in 1993.
Past rosters
2009 African Championship: finished 5th among 16 teams
Akin Akingbala, Aloysius Anagonye, Chamberlain Oguchi, Deji Akindele, Michael Efevberha, Michael Umeh, Josh Akognon, Ebi Ere, Ejike Ugboaja, Gabe Muoneke, Jayson Obazuaye, Benson Egemonye (Coach: John Lucas II)
2011 African Championship: finished 3rd among 16 teams
Solomon Tat, Ime Udoka, Abubakar Usman, Chinedu Onyeuku, Ike Ofoegbu, Michael Umeh, Stanley Gumut, Derrick Obasohan, Ejike Ugboaja, Ezenwa Ukeagu, Jayson Obazuaye, Olumide Oyedeji (Coach: Ayo Bakare)
2012 Summer Olympics: finished 10th among 12 teams
Tony Skinn, Ekene Ibekwe, Ike Diogu, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ade Dagunduro, Chamberlain Oguchi, Koko Archibong, Richard Oruche, Ejike Ugboaja, Derrick Obasohan, Alade Aminu, Olumide Oyedeji (Coach: Ayo Bakare)
Kit
Manufacturer
2019: Peak
See also
References
- "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- "FIBA rankings". FIBA. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- https://medium.com/@TemidayoOnifade/the-need-for-proper-basketball-arena-s-in-nigeria-b30c893d65c2
- https://punchng.com/lagos-ready-to-take-over-surulere-national-stadium-ambode/
- "NBBF hires Will Voigt to lead D'Tigers to Afrobasket and All African Games; may lead team to Rio 2016 Olympic Games". Basketball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- http://punchng.com/afrobasket-nbbf-appoints-alex-nwora-as-dtigers-coach/
- https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/04/warriors-assistant-mike-brown-will-coach-nigeria-in-2020-olympics-report/
- "Forget it, Nigeria. Victor Oladipo is gone!". Basketball. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
External links
- Official website
- Team Nigeria Basketball
- FIBA Profile
- Nigeria Basketball Records at FIBA Archive
- Afrobasket – Nigeria Men National Team
Videos
- Nigeria - Team Highlights - AfroBasket 2015 Youtube.com video
FIBA AfroBasket winners | |
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African Games Basketball ( Men ) winners | |
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