 | |||
| FIBA ranking | 50 3 (2 December 2025)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| JoinedFIBA | 1964 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Africa | ||
| National federation | Nigeria Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | Abdulrahman Mohammed | ||
| Nickname | D'Tigers | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 3 | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 | ||
| AfroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 20 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2015) Silver: (1997,1999,2003,2017) Bronze: (1995,2005,2011) | ||
| African Games | |||
| Appearances | 8 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2011) Bronze: (1995,1999,2003,2007,2015) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Senegal 101–30Nigeria  (Dakar, Senegal; 25 December 1971) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Liberia 35–109Nigeria (Huambo, Angola; 17 August 2007) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 United States 156–73Nigeria (London, United Kingdom; 2 August 2012) | |||
TheNigeria men's national basketball team representsNigeria in internationalbasketball, and it is governed by theNigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).
In March 2021, the global governing bodyFIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basketball nation.[2] After the 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Rio, Nigeria was ranked 16th in theFIBA World Rankings, making them the top climber in FIBA rankings from 2015.[3]
Nigeria is the only African nation to beat theUnited States. Nigeria is also the first African team to qualify for theSummer Olympics through theFIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. This was accomplished at the2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams ofLithuania andGreece. In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion ofAfrica.
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 inLagos. 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 theNigerian Basketball Federation.
Nigeria's national basketball team joinedFIBA in 1964. Since the mid-1990s, the team has enjoyed unprecedented success, due to an increasing amount of talents from Nigeria as well as an orchestrated recruitment of Americancollege and professional players of Nigerian descent. The D'Tigers (as the team is nicknamed) qualified for the2006 FIBA World Championship, marking only the second time in the country's history that they qualified to theFIBA World Cup. Team Nigeria usually plays its home games at the 3,000-capacityIndoor Sports Hall inLagos.[4][5]
Nigeria took part in the2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. They were drawn in Group A withArgentina,France,Lebanon,Serbia and Montenegro, andVenezuela. They surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated byGermany in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the same record as the defending world championSerbia and Montenegro.
Nigeria competed at the2012 Summer Olympics. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their lone victory coming againstTunisia in their Olympics debut.[6] The team's roster, assembled by coachAyodele Bakare, primarily comprised former college basketball players.[7]
Nigeria qualified for the2016 Summer Olympics tournament as champions ofAfroBasket 2015. They finished at the bottom of Group B, winning one game againstCroatia and losing four games.[citation needed] The team entered the 2016 games with several injured players and little financial support from the Nigerian government.[8]
As the top African team at the2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Nigeria qualified for their third consecutive Olympics berth for the2020 Summer Olympics.[9] The team, which included seven NBA players and was led byGolden State Warriors assistant coachMike Brown, was called up for training in the United States in June 2021. D'Tigers defeated theUnited States 90–87 during an exhibition game inLas Vegas on 10 July. The victory, described as an "upset", was the first for an African team against the United States.[10][11]
Intercontinental
2013, 2016Continental
| Olympics record | Qualification record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | GP | W | L | |
 1964 | Did not qualify | AfroBasket served as qualification | |||||||
 1968 | |||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||
 1976 | |||||||||
 1980 | |||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||
 1988 | |||||||||
 1992 | |||||||||
| 1996 | |||||||||
 2000 | |||||||||
 2004 | |||||||||
 2008 | |||||||||
 2012 | Preliminary round | 10th | 5 | 1 | 4 | ||||
 2016 | 11th | 5 | 1 | 4 | |||||
 2020 | 10th | 3 | 0 | 3 | |||||
 2024 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| 13 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| FIBA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | GP | W | L | |
 1967 | Did not qualify | AfroBasket served as qualification | |||||||
 1970 | |||||||||
 1974 | |||||||||
 1978 | |||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
 1990 | |||||||||
| 1994 | |||||||||
| 1998 | Preliminary round | 13th | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 2002 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2006 | Round of 16 | 14th | 6 | 2 | 4 | ||||
 2010 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Preliminary round | 17th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 2 | |
  2023 | Did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 5 | |||||
 2027 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||
| 3/15 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 15 | 7 | |||
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1965 | Did not enter | ||||
 1968 | |||||
 1970 | |||||
| 1972 | Classification stage | 12th | 6 | 0 | 6 |
 1974 | Did not enter | ||||
| 1975 | |||||
| 1978 | Classification stage | 6th | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 1980 | Preliminary round | 11th | 5 | 1 | 4 |
 1981 | Did not enter | ||||
| 1983 | |||||
 1985 | Classification stage | 7th | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 1987 | Classification stage | 8th | 4 | 1 | 3 |
 1989 | Did not enter | ||||
| 1992 | Classification stage | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 |
 1993 | Did not enter | ||||
 1995 | Third place |  | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 1997 | Runners-up |  | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 1999 | Runners-up | | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 2001 | Classification stage | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 2003 | Runners-up | | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 2005 | Third place | | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 2007 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 |
 2009 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 9 | 7 | 2 |
 2011 | Third place | | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| 2013 | Quarterfinals | 7th | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| 2015 | Champions |  | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| 2017 | Runners-up | | 6 | 4 | 2 |
 2021 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 1 Title | 20/31 | 122 | 79 | 43 |
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2019 | 11th place | 11th | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | 8th place | 8th | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 2/2 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Commonwealth Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | ||||
| 2006 | Semi-Final | 4th | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 2018 | Quarter-Final | 6th | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 2/2 | 4th | 9 | 2 | 7 | ||||
Roster for theAfroBasket 2025.[12]
| Nigeria men's national basketball team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Several players of the Nigeria national team have had success playing for professional teams, in theNBA, or in Europe, including:
Hakeem Olajuwon never played for Nigeria at the international senior level,[13] and would eventually play for theUnited States, after becoming a US citizen in 1993.
2009 African Championship: finished5th 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: finished3rd 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: finished10th 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)
2020 Olympic roster:A 15-player roster was announced on 6 July 2021.[14] The final squad was released on 20 July 2021.[15]
| Nigeria national basketball team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vladislav Lučić 1975–1980Sam Vincent 2004–2006Sani Ahmed 2006Robert McCullum 2007John Lucas II 2009Sani Ahmed 2010, 2013Ayo Bakare 2011–2014William Voigt 2015–2017[17]Alexander Nwora 2017–present[18] Associate Headcoach from 2020–present.Mike Brown 2020–2022[19]Alan Major July 2022–present[20]2019–present:Peak
National men'sbasketball teams of Africa (FIBA Africa) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 (4) |  | |
| Zone 2 (8) | ||
| Zone 3 (8) | ||
| Zone 4 (8) | ||
| Zone 5 (11) | ||
| Zone 6 (10) | ||
| Zone 7 (5) | ||
African Games Basketball (Men) winners | |
|---|---|
