 | |||
| FIBA ranking | 20 4 (15 September 2025)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| JoinedFIBA | 1992 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | GBF | ||
| Coach | Aleksandar Džikić | ||
| Nickname(s) | ჯვაროსნები jvarosnebi (Crusaders) | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 6 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Poland 91–68Georgia  (Birmingham, England; 24 May 1995) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Georgia 103–43Azerbaijan  (Tbilisi, Georgia; 2 September 2001) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Italy 90–43Georgia (Siena, Italy; 28 February 1998) | |||
TheGeorgia men's national basketball team (Georgian:საქართველოს ეროვნული საკალათბურთო ნაკრები) represents the country ofGeorgia in internationalbasketball matches, and is controlled by theGeorgian Basketball Federation. Georgia became a member ofFIBA in 1992, after they gainedindependence from theSoviet Union. The national team played their first official match againstPoland in 1995.
Georgia's accomplishments on the international level have been clinching qualification to theEuropean Basketball Championship six times. Their best result came at their sixth trip to the tournament in2025. In2023, Georgia achieved their first qualification on to the global stage at theFIBA World Cup.
Since 2023, Georgia has had the highestFIBA World Ranking amongCaucasus countries.
Until 1991,Georgia was a part of theSoviet Union, with players born in Georgia playing for theSoviet Union national team. Notable players born in Georgia who played for the Soviet Union and won medals at theOlympic Games,FIBA World Cup andEuroBasket include:Nodar Dzhordzhikiya,Otar Korkia,Guram Minashvili,Vladimer Ugrekhelidze,Levan Moseshvili,Zurab Sakandelidze,Mikheil Korkia andNikolay Deryugin.
After gainingindependence from the Soviet Union, on several occasions the Georgian national team unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the EuroBasket, Europe's biggest basketball competition and major tournament. Although the national team did play on the EuroBasket Division B level three times and gained promotion in2009 after defeatingBelarus in play-offs.[2] However, after the expansion of the EuroBasket in 2011 from 16 to 24 teams, Georgia qualified to the competition for the first time.
The national team played five matches inGroup D. They finished their preliminary group with an 2–3 record, with wins againstBelgium andUkraine, to advance. In theirsecond round group phase, Georgia lost all five of their matches to finish their maiden voyage to the EuroBasket in 11th place.[3]
After finishing second in qualifyinggroup, Georgia qualified for its second EuroBasket tournament. After a comfortable 84–67 victory in the opening match overPoland, Georgia lost their four remaining matches and finished the tournament with an 1–4 record.[4] To that point, theEurobasket 2013 was the only tournament in which Georgia could not win more than one match.
Georgia qualified to the EuroBasket for the third successive time in 2015. After three consecutive losses to start the tournament, the national team finally earned their first win ingroup play againstMacedonia 90–75. They followed it up with another victory to end the opening phase of the event againstCroatia, 71–58[5] to move on to the knockout stages for the first time. There they suffered a narrow hard fought defeat to the tournament favourites, and eventualsilver medalistLithuania 81–85.[6]
During theEuroBasket 2017 qualification Georgia topped its group after an 90–84 victory overMontenegro, and qualified to EuroBasket for the fourth successive time.[7] Once the competition began, the national team got off to a quick start, avenging theirEuroBasket 2015 knockout stage defeat to Lithuania 79–77.[8] The rest of thegroup stage didn't go as well for the Georgian side though. As the team could only manage to pullout one more victory againstIsrael, before falling toItaly to finish the tournament with an 2–3 record and being eliminated.[9]
Georgia was the co-host theEuroBasket 2022, and they automatically qualified for the 2022 finals tournament. This was the fifth successive time that Georgia qualified for the event overall.Tbilisi was one of the host cities, and was used for Group A matches at the brand newTbilisi Basketball Arena.[10][11]
In February 2023, Georgia was qualified for the finals tournament of2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup by earning 3rd place in qualifiers. This was the first time that Georgia qualified for the event overall. They lost toIceland 80-77 in the final Europe Region qualifying game for both teams. However, Iceland needed to win by four points or more to win a tiebreaker over Georgia for the World Cup berth. Both teams finished qualifying with 5-5 records, with the tiebreaker going to Georgia by the slimmest of margins.[12] “Amazing. I’m so happy, man,” said Georgia’sThaddus McFadden, aMichigan-born guard.
In August 2023, Georgia kept their dream run alive as the debutants booked a trip to the Second Round of the World Cup by dashing the hopes ofVenezuela, 70-59 at theOkinawa Arena,Japan.[13] They lost successive matches to bothGermany andAustria and ended the journey in World Cup.
On 7 September 2025, Georgia advanced to the quarter-finals ofEuroBasket 2025 for the first time in history, with a dominant 80-70 win againstFrance inRiga Arena, Latvia. France was runner-up atEuroBasket 2022 and the2024 Summer Olympics. After their history victory, national team veteranGiorgi Shermadini said “Unbelievable. I’m really happy, congrats to my teammates, everyone, all our fans in Georgia and here. France are amazing, but today we played better in defense and offense.”[14]
The core of the national team that has consistently qualified to Europe's biggest basketball competition consisted of captainZaza Pachulia,Viktor Sanikidze,Manuchar Markoishvili,Tornike Shengelia,Giorgi Tsintsadze andGiorgi Shermadini. These pioneers in the Georgian basketball community have set the standard for future generations of the national team to build upon, and maintain.
FIBA World Cup[edit]
Olympic Games[edit]
| EuroBasket[edit]
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Win Loss
v
Denmark| 21 February 2025 | Georgia | 62–60 | Denmark | Tbilisi, Georgia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter: 19–21,18–4, 11–20, 14–15 | ||||
| Pts:Shengelia 19 Rebs:Shengelia 13 Asts:Andronikashvili,Shengelia 4 | Boxscore | Pts:Larsen 14 Rebs:Berg 8 Asts:Berg 3 | Arena:Tbilisi Arena Attendance: 9,000 Referees:Luis Castillo (ESP), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL), Ilias Kounelles (CYP) | ||
v Georgia| 24 February 2025 | Serbia | 63–54 | Georgia | Belgrade, Serbia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 (UTC+1) | Scoring by quarter: 13–17, 14–14,17–10,19–13 | ||||
| Pts:Avramović 14 Rebs:Beslać,Koprivica 5 Asts:Jović 6 | Boxscore | Pts:Burjanadze 17 Rebs:Jintcharadze,Phevadze 7 Asts:Jintcharadze 4 | Arena:Aleksandar Nikolić Hall Attendance: 7,500 Referees: Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Ofer Manheim (ISR), Valentin Oliot (FRA) | ||
v
Spain| 28 August 2025 | Georgia | 83–69 | Spain | Limassol, Cyprus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:20–17, 17–18,20–14,26–20 | ||||
| Pts:Mamukelashvili 19 Rebs:Burjanadze,Mamukelashvili 7 Asts:Mamukelashvili 6 | Boxscore | Pts:J. Hernangómez 13 Rebs:J. Hernangómez 8 Asts:De Larrea 5 | Arena:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Attendance: 1,520 Referees: Matthew Kallio (CAN), Paulo Marques (POR), Petar Pešić (SRB) | ||
v Georgia| 30 August 2025 | Italy | 78–62 | Georgia | Limassol, Cyprus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:18–10, 14–22,21–15,25–15 | ||||
| Pts:Niang 15 Rebs:Melli 8 Asts:Pajola,Spissu 5 | Boxscore | Pts:Bitadze 22 Rebs:Mamukelashvili,Shermadini 5 Asts:Shengelia 5 | Arena:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Attendance: 2,089 Referees: Matthew Kallio (CAN),Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Petar Pešić (SRB) | ||
v
Greece| 31 August 2025 | Georgia | 53–94 | Greece | Limassol, Cyprus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter: 13–22, 16–24, 12–23, 12–25 | ||||
| Pts:Mamukelashvili 14 Rebs:Shermadini 7 Asts:Baldwin 5 | Boxscore | Pts:G. Antetokounmpo 27 Rebs:G. Antetokounmpo 8 Asts:Sloukas 6 | Arena:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Attendance: 7,290 Referees: Jorge Vázquez (PUR),Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL) | ||
v Georgia| 2 September 2025 | Cyprus | 61–93 | Georgia | Limassol, Cyprus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:15 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter: 13–15, 13–27, 15–26, 20–25 | ||||
| Pts:Willis 19 Rebs:Willis 7 Asts:Stylianou 5 | Boxscore | Pts:Shengelia 27 Rebs:Bitadze 13 Asts:three players 6 | Arena:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Attendance: 3,142 Referees: Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU), Siniša Prpa (SRB), Gintaras Mačiulis (LTU) | ||
v Georgia| 4 September 2025 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 84–76 | Georgia | Limassol, Cyprus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:20–15,27–20, 20–27,17–14 | ||||
| Pts:Nurkić,Roberson 15 Rebs:Nurkić 12 Asts:Atić 8 | Boxscore | Pts:Mamukelashvili 20 Rebs:Mamukelashvili 8 Asts:Baldwin,Shengelia 4 | Arena:Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Attendance: 2,539 Referees:Matthew Kallio (CAN), Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL) | ||
v Georgia| 7 September 2025 | France | 70–80 | Georgia | Riga, Latvia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:15 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter: 20–24,17–14, 17–20, 16–22 | ||||
| Pts:Francisco 14 Rebs:Jaiteh 7 Asts:Jaiteh 4 | Boxscore | Pts:Baldwin,Shengelia 24 Rebs:Mamukelashvili 11 Asts:Bitadze 4 | Arena:Xiaomi Arena Attendance: 1,652 Referees: Jorge Vázquez (PUR), Kerem Baki (TUR), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL) | ||
v Georgia| 10 September 2025 | Finland | 93–79 | Georgia | Riga, Latvia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:28–15,29–25, 14–22,22–17 | ||||
| Pts:Jantunen 19 Rebs:Salin 7 Asts:Little 9 | Boxscore | Pts:Mamukelashvili 22 Rebs:Bitadze 6 Asts:Shengelia 5 | Arena:Xiaomi Arena Attendance: 6,025 Referees:Yohan Rosso (FRA), Julio Anaya (PAN), Gatis Saliņš (LAT) | ||
v
Ukraine| 27 November 2025 | Georgia | 79–92 | Ukraine | Tblisi, Georgia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter:20–17, 20–32,27–20, 19–29 | ||||
| Pts:Sanadze 22 Rebs:Shengelia, Shermadini 6 Asts:Andronikashvili 5 | Boxscore | Pts:Kovliar 31 Rebs:Bobrov 15 Asts:Kovliar 6 | Arena:Tbilisi Arena Attendance: 9,000 Referees: Mihkel Männiste (EST), Çisil Güngör (ROU), Orhan Çağrı Hekimoğlu (TUR) | ||
v Georgia| 30 November 2025 | Spain | vs. | Georgia | La Laguna, Spain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:45 (UTC+0) | |||||
| Boxscore | Arena:Pabellón Insular Santiago Martín | ||||
Roster for the2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers matches on 27 and 30 November 2025 againstUkraine andSpain.[15]
| Georgia men's national basketball team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Goga Bitadze | Giorgi Shermadini | |||
| PF | Tornike Shengelia | Beka Burjanadze | George Korsantia | ||
| SF | Sandro Mamukelashvili | Kakhaber Jintcharadze | Aleksandre Phevadze | ||
| SG | Duda Sanadze | Giorgi Ochkhikidze | |||
| PG | Kamar Baldwin | Rati Andronikashvili |
Besik Liparteliani – (1994–1997)[16]Levan Moseshvili – (1997–1999) Zurab Tomaradze – (1999–2001)
Dražen Brajković – (2001–2005)
/Gordon Herbert – (2005–2007)Ken Shields – (2007–2008)Igor Kokoškov – (2008–2015)Ilias Zouros – (2016–2023)Aleksandar Džikić – (2024–present)2011 EuroBasket: finished11th among 24 teams[17]
4Giorgi Gamqrelidze, 5Vladimir Boisa, 6Anatoli Boisa, 7Zaza Pachulia(C), 8Giorgi Tsintsadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini,
10 Lasha Parghalava, 11Manuchar Markoishvili, 12MarQuez Haynes, 13Viktor Sanikidze, 14Tornike Shengelia, 15Nikoloz Tskitishvili
(Coach:Igor Kokoškov)
2013 EuroBasket: finished17th among 24 teams[18]
4Nika Metreveli, 5 Otar Pkhakadze, 6Duda Sanadze, 7Beka Burjanadze, 8Giorgi Tsintsadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini, 10Ricky Hickman,
11Manuchar Markoishvili, 12Levan Patsatsia, 13Viktor Sanikidze, 14Besik Lezhava, 15Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Coach:Igor Kokoškov)
2015 EuroBasket: finished15th among 24 teams[19]
0Jacob Pullen, 4Nika Metreveli, 7Zaza Pachulia(C), 8Giorgi Tsintsadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini, 10Duda Sanadze,
11Manuchar Markoishvili, 12Levan Patsatsia, 13Viktor Sanikidze, 15Beka Burjanadze, 23Tornike Shengelia, 25Besik Lezhava
(Coach:Igor Kokoškov)
2017 EuroBasket: finished17th among 24 teams[20]
3Michael Dixon, 4Giorgi Gamqrelidze, 6Anatoli Boisa, 7Zaza Pachulia(C), 8Giorgi Tsintsadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini,
10Duda Sanadze, 11Manuchar Markoishvili, 17Mikheil Berishvili, 23Tornike Shengelia, 35Goga Bitadze, 99Ilia Londaridze
(Coach:Ilias Zouros)
2022 EuroBasket: finished21st among 24 teams[21]
4Rati Andronikashvili, 5Sandro Mamukelashvili, 6 Kakhaber Jintcharadze, 7Beka Burjanadze, 8Giorgi Tsintsadze,
9Giorgi Shermadini(C), 10Duda Sanadze, 17Mikheil Berishvili, 18 Merab Bokolishvili, 25Thad McFadden, 33 Beka Bekauri,
35Goga Bitadze (Coach:Ilias Zouros)
2023 FIBA World Cup: finished16th among 32 teams[22]
4Rati Andronikashvili, 5Sandro Mamukelashvili, 6 Kakhaber Jintcharadze, 7 Luka Liklikadze, 8Giorgi Tsintsadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini,
10Duda Sanadze, 11 Giorgi Turdziladze, 17Mikheil Berishvili, 23Tornike Shengelia(C), 25Thad McFadden, 35Goga Bitadze
(Coach:Ilias Zouros)
2025 EuroBasket: finished8th among 24 teams[23]
4Rati Andronikashvili, 5Sandro Mamukelashvili, 6 Kakhaber Jintcharadze, 7Beka Burjanadze, 9Giorgi Shermadini, 10Duda Sanadze, 12 George Korsantia, 15 Aleksandre Phevadze, 23Tornike Shengelia(C), 35Goga Bitadze, 44Kamar Baldwin, 77 Giorgi Ochkhikidze (Coach:Aleksandar Džikić)
As of 27 November 2025
| Record against teams at the EuroBasket[edit]
Notable results[edit]
|
(in Georgian)
