Yugoslavia national basketball team

The Yugoslavia team that won the 1989 FIFA EuroBasket held in Yugoslavia

At the Summer Olympic Games, Yugoslavia captured one gold medal (1980), took the silver medal on three occasions (1968, 76, 88) and captured the bronze medal once (1984).

At the FIBA World Cup, Yugoslavia captured three gold medals (1970, 1978 and 1990), three silver medals (1963, 1967, 1974) and two bronze medals (1982, 1986).

At the EuroBasket, Yugoslavia captured the gold medal five times (1973, 1975, 1977, 1989, 1991), were silver medalists on five occasions (1961, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1981), and captured the bronze medal four times (1963, 1979, 1987).

Performance at Summer Olympic Games Year Pos. Pld W L 1936 Berlin Did not qualify 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 6th 8 4 4 1964 Tokyo 7th 9 5 4 1968 Mexico City 9 7 2 1972 Munich 5th 9 7 2 1976 Montreal 7 5 2 1980 Moscow 8 8 0 1984 Los Angeles 8 7 1 1988 Seoul 8 6 2 Total 8/12 66 49 17' Performance at FIBA World Cup Year Pos. Pld W L 1950 Argentina 10th 5 0 5 1954 Brazil 11th 5 1 4 1959 Chile Did not qualify 1963 Brazil 9 8 1 1967 Uruguay 9 6 3 1970 Yugoslavia 6 5 1 1974 Puerto Rico 7 6 1 1978 Philippines 10 10 0 1982 Colombia 9 7 2 1986 Spain 10 8 2 1990 Argentina 8 7 1 Total 10/11 78 58 20

Performance at FIBA EuroBasket Year Position Pld W L 1935 Switzerland Did not qualify 1937 Latvia 1939 Lithuania 1946 Switzerland 1947 Czechoslovakia 13th 5 2 3 1949 Egypt Did not qualify 1951 France 1953 Soviet Union 6th 11 6 5 1955 Hungary 8th 11 4 7 1957 Bulgaria 6th 10 4 6 1959 Turkey 9th 7 6 1 1961 Yugoslavia 10 8 2 1963 Poland 9 8 1 1965 Soviet Union 9 8 1 1967 Finland 9th 9 6 3 1969 Italy 7 6 1 1971 West Germany 7 6 1 1973 Spain 7 7 0 1975 Yugoslavia 8 8 0 1977 Belgium 7 6 1 1979 Italy 9 6 3 1981 Czechoslovakia 10 8 2 1983 France 7th 7 4 3 1985 West Germany 7th 8 5 3 1987 Greece 8 5 3 1989 Yugoslavia 5 5 0 1991 Italy 5 5 0 Total 21/27 169 123 46

The Yugoslav national team of the late 1980s and early 1990s featured what was perhaps the greatest generation in the history of Yugoslav basketball. A common quip about basketball is: "The Americans invented it, the Yugoslavs perfected it." With such players as Dražen Petrović, Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa, Predrag Danilović, Žarko Paspalj and Jure Zdovc the country was responsible for a wave of international NBA players in the 1990s. Many of the former Yugoslav players of this era were a part of the under-21 national team that won the FIBA World Junior Championships in 1987, defeating the U.S. both in pool play and in the final.

The 1991 team is regarded by Antonello Riva as the best team in European history.[1]

For 1992 onwards, as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: see Serbia and Montenegro national basketball team

After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia in 1991, five new countries were created: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, FR Yugoslavia (in 2003, renamed to Serbia and Montenegro) and Slovenia. In 2006, Montenegro became an independent nation and Serbia became the legal successor of Serbia and Montenegro. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia and became a FIBA member in 2015.

Here is a list of men's national teams on the SFR Yugoslavia area:

•  Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–present)
•  Croatia (1992–present)
•  North Macedonia (1993–present)
•  Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006)
  •  Montenegro (2006–present)
  •  Serbia (2006–present)
    •  Kosovo (2015–present)
•  Slovenia (1992–present)

None of these teams is an inheritor of the results the SFR Yugoslavia national basketball team had accomplished.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, clubs, leagues and national teams of the successor state basketball associations continued the so-called "Yugoslav school of basketball" tradition, with some continuing to produce top results and exhibited strong performance in international competitions, both at world and continental stage. Particularly successful over the years, since break-up of former common country, was Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia. Croatia too had some measurable success immediately after the break-up, with Slovenia winning their first ever international tournament after defeating Serbia at EuroBasket 2017. Other national teams also continued to exhibited strong performance over the years, by competing on international stage in different competitions, with Bosnia, Montenegro, and Macedonia, all qualifying regularly for EuroBasket, and other big tournaments.

• Yugoslavia participation – FIBA archive
• Yugoslavia at fibaeurope.com