 | |||
| FIBA ranking | NR (15 September 2025)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| JoinedFIBA | 1992; 33 years ago (1992) | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | RBF | ||
| Coach | Zoran Lukić | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 3 | ||
| Medals |  Bronze: (2012) | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 5 | ||
| Medals |  Silver: (1994,1998) | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 13 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2007) Silver: (1993) Bronze: (1997,2011) | ||
| |||
TheRussia men's national basketball team (Russian:национа́льная сбо́рная Росси́и по баскетболу,romanized: natsionalnaya sbornaya rossii po basketbolu) represents Russia in internationalbasketball competition. They are organized and run by theRussian Basketball Federation (RBF). The team came into existence after thedissolution of theSoviet Union and itsnational team.
In the post-Soviet era, the Russia national team consisting of Soviet players under the guidance ofSergei Belov won the silver medal atEuroBasket 1993. It also won silver at theWorld Cup in consecutive appearances in1994 and1998.
However, Belov's departure saw Russia face multiple disappointments, untilDavid Blatt took over as head coach. Under Blatt's guidance, the national team became champions atEuroBasket 2007, and also won bronze medals atEuroBasket 2011 and the2012 Summer Olympics.
After Blatt left the staff in late 2012, Russian national basketball experienced a deep crisis due to corruption in the RBF, and the federation's conflict withFIBA. Following a failed performance atEuroBasket 2015, Russia did not qualify for the2016 Summer Olympics. The situation stabilized after members of the RBF, including president Yulia Anikeeva, were dismissed. The current head coach isZoran Lukić.
After theRussian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA banned Russian teams and officials from participating in FIBA basketball and FIBA 3x3 Basketball competitions.[2]
The history of post-Soviet basketball in Russia dates back to 1992. The head coach back then wasYuri Selikhov. The first major tournament Russia participated in was theEuroBasket 1993 in Germany. The roster included players from the USSR era, among them wereSergey Bazarevich, andDmitry Sukharev. Russia became runners-up, losing in the final toGermany, 70–71.[3]
Sergey Belov was appointed new head coach of the national team after the EuroBasket. Russia debuted at the1994 World Cup, reaching the final, losing only to theUnited States, 91–137. At theEuroBasket 1995, Russia displayed a very mediocre performance at the tournament, where the national team eventually finished up in 7th place, with an (5-4) record overall.Two years later Russia beatFrance 108–89, to claim the bronze medal. At the1998 World Cup, Russia took home the silver medal.[citation needed]
The final tournament under the guidance of Belov was theEuroBasket 1999 in France. In the quarterfinals, the national team lost toItaly, and in the classification matches defeatedGermany, but lost toLithuania in the fifth-place match.[citation needed]
Belov was replaced byStanislav Eremin as the new head coach in the new century. Russia debuted at their firstSummer Olympic Games, inSydney, Australia, in 2000. Russia lost two matches in the preliminary round and got to the quarterfinals from the bottom of the group, losing there to USA, 85–70. In the classification rounds, Russia lost toCanada, 86–83, in doubleovertime, finishing the Games in 8th place. At theEuroBasket 2001, the Russians took the overall 5th place. In the preliminary round, Russia won two out of three matches, defeatingBosnia and Herzegovina,Greece but falling toItaly. Russia qualified to the quarterfinals as one of the top teams from their group, but lost to Spain, 62–55. Russia won both matches in the classification phase, defeatingLatvia and France. At the2002 World Cup inIndianapolis, Russia exhibited a lackluster outing during the competition and failed to medal, ending in 10th place.[citation needed]
In 2002,Sergey Elevich was named the new head coach until 2003, when he was replaced bySergei Babkov,[4] who also coached for two years. However, Russia played poorly during this time, producing no outstanding results.
On 9 March 2006, the new head coach of the national team became American-IsraeliDavid Blatt. The period under Blatt's guidance was marked by some great moments.
Russia wonEuroBasket 2007, defeating the host nationSpain. In the first quarter of the final, the Russians were 10 points down, losing offensive and defensiverebounds and failing to counterPau Gasol. The team also started the game cold from the three-point line. However, in the 4th quarter Russia came back. With a minute and a half remaining in regulation Spain led by five points, but then David Blatt took a timeout, and Russia decreased the gap. In the final three secondsJ. R. Holden converted on a difficult shot and Russia took the lead by one point. Spain quickly called timeout one second later. Out of the timeout Spain immediately got the ball in to Gasol, for a potential game winner, but the shot was off the mark, and Russia prevailed 60–59.[5]Andrey Kirilenko was namedMVP of the tournament.[6]
At the2008 Olympics, in the first match they defeatedIran, but then lost toCroatia, Lithuania,Australia, andArgentina. In the group phase Russia took fifth and finished their performance. AtEuroBasket 2009, Russia was without its leader Kirilenko and Holden for personal reasons,[7] andVictor Khryapa due to injury.[8] They were replaced by young playersFedor Dmitriev,Egor Vyaltsev, andKelly McCarty. The Russians still managed to reach the quarterfinals, but were eventually eliminated bySerbia, to finish 7th in the tournament.
On 12 December 2009, Russia received awild card for the2010 World Cup.[9] In the preliminary phase, Russia finished second in their group after victories overPuerto Rico, theIvory Coast, and Greece, but failed to win againstTurkey. In the round of 16, they defeatedNew Zealand, but finished their performance in the quarterfinals, losing to theAmericans, 79–89. Russia as in the last EuroBasket finished 7th, after losing to Argentina and defeatingSlovenia.
Russia participated at theEuroBasket 2011, winning 10 of 11 matches. They failed to reach the final after losing to France. In the bronze medal game, Russia in a tight game subduedMacedonia. Kirilenko was named tothe All-Tournament Team.[10]
Notwithstanding their third place, Russia did not directly qualify for the2012 Summer Olympics in London, but qualified instead throughthe qualifying tournament inVenezuela in early July 2012, where they did not lose a single match.[citation needed]
At the 2012 Olympics, Russia took the top position in their preliminary phase group, losing only to Australia before advancing. In the quarterfinals Russia defeated Lithuania, but then lost to Spain, 59–67. In the third-place match, Russia defeated Argentina, the Olympic champions of 2004, 81–77. Kirilenko became member of the All-Olympics Team according toESPN. He was ranked third in blocks and steals, sixth in scoring and eighth in rebounding.[11]
We created a great team. It is one of the strongest in the world, it plays on the highest level. It took a lot of time to achieve this aim, we collected many talented players. The medals won at the Olympics created a new Russian history. In the seven years of cooperation with Andrey Kirilenko and other people we won three medals. Gold in EuroBasket 2007, bronze in the last year and this Olympic bronze.[12]
— David Blatt
On 30 October 2012, Blatt decided to step down as head coach of the national team.[13]
In late December a new head coach was chosen,Bilbao Basket coachFotis Katsikaris.[14] 19 July 2013, three days before the training for the upcomingEuroBasket 2013, he decided not to coach the national team.[15] On the next day he published an open letter in which he explained his decision. He felt that his actions were met with opposition from the administration of theRussian Basketball Federation, especially from acting president Yulia Anikeeva (the future president of the RBF who was arrested in 2016 for corruption[16]), and criticized the dismissal of general manager Oleg Ushakov.[17]
Katsikaris was replaced byVasily Karasev. Losing 4 out of 5 matches in the preliminary round againstItaly,Greece,Sweden andFinland (only winning againstTurkey). Team Russia finished in 24th place at the EuroBasket 2013, the worst result ever for the national team. Karasev was then replaced byEvgeny Pashutin on 29 November 2013.[18]
A vast majority of its players declined participating in theEuroBasket 2015, includingTimofey Mozgov,Sergey Karasev,Pavel Podkolzin,Alexey Shved,Evgeny Voronov,Artem Vikhrov,Evgeny Valiev, andSergey Tokarev.Anton Ponkrashov andEgor Vyaltsev were initially dismissed from the national team,[19] but then returned.FIBA in the last moment allowed team Russia to participate in spite of the disqualification of the RBF.[20] Russia lost four matches in a row toIsrael,Poland,Finland, andFrance (only winning againstBosnia), and so failed to qualify for the2016 Olympics inRio de Janeiro; they finished 17th.[21] Pashutin resigned on 29 October 2015.[22]
An executive committee of the RBF on 20 January 2016 named a new head coach,Sergey Bazarevich.[23] Russia planned to prepare for theEuroBasket 2017,[24] but FIBA suspended the RBF in July 2015.[25][26] However, later their membership was restored in November 2015.[27] Their disqualification was annulled in late May 2016,[28] and in September 2016 team Russia qualified for the EuroBasket.[29]
At theEuroBasket 2017, Russia defeated four of their five opponentsTurkey,Serbia,Belgium, andGreat Britain in the preliminary round, losing only toLatvia before advancing. In the knockout stage Russia beat Croatia, and in the quarterfinals closely defeated Greece to reach the semifinals. Serbia though proved to be too tough this time around defeating Russia 87–79 to reach the final. The bronze medal match between Russia andSpain was won by Spain, 93–85.[citation needed]
After theRussian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA banned Russian teams and officials from participating in FIBA basketball and FIBA 3x3 Basketball competitions.[2]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Olympics | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FIBA World Cup | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| EuroBasket | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Stanković Cup | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Grand Totals | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
FIBA World Cup[edit]
Olympic Games[edit]
FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup[edit]
| EuroBasket[edit]
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v
Netherlands| 24 February 2022 | Russia | Annulled | Netherlands | |||
| Note: | ||||||
v Russia| 27 February 2022 | Netherlands | Cancelled | Russia | |||
| Note: The game, originally scheduled for 27 February 2022, was postponed due to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[32] | ||||||
Roster for the2019 FIBA World Cup.
| Russia national basketball team – 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yuri Selikhov – 1992–1993Sergei Belov – 1993–2000Stanislav Eremin – 1999–2002Sergey Elevich – 2003–2004Sergei Babkov – 2004–2005
David Blatt – 2006–2012
Fotis Katsikaris – 2012–2013Vasiliy Karasev – 2013Evgeny Pashutin – 2014–2015Sergey Bazarevich – 2016–2021
Zoran Lukić – 2021–present1993 EuroBasket: finished2nd among 16 teams
4Vladimir Gorin, 5Dmitry Shakulin, 6 Dmitry Sucharev, 7 Maksim Astanin, 8Vitaly Nosov, 9Sergei Bazarevich, 10Sergei Babkov, 11Mikhail Mikhailov, 12Vasily Karasev, 13Andrei Fetisov, 14Sergei Panov, 15 Vladislav Kondratov (Coach:Yuri Selikhov)
1994 FIBA World Cup: finished2nd among 16 teams
4Sergei Bazarevich, 5Sergei Babkov, 6Evgeni Kisurin, 7Mikhail Mikhailov, 8Andrei Fetisov, 9Dmitri Domani, 10Sergei Panov, 11Evgeni Pashutin, 12 Igor Grachev, 13 Sergei Ivanov, 14Vasily Karasev, 15Vitaly Nosov (Coach:Sergei Belov)
1995 EuroBasket: finished7th among 14 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5Igor Kudelin, 6Dmitri Domani, 7Evgeni Kisurin, 8Evgeniy Pashutin, 9Sergei Bazarevich, 10Sergei Babkov, 11Mikhail Mikhailov, 12Andrei Fetisov, 13 Sergei Ivanov, 14Sergei Panov, 15Vitaly Nosov (Coach:Sergei Belov)
1997 EuroBasket: finished3rd among 16 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5Igor Kudelin, 6 Igor Kurashov, 7Evgeni Kisurin, 8Evgeniy Pashutin, 9Dmitry Shakulin, 10Sergei Babkov, 11Mikhail Mikhailov, 12Zakhar Pashutin, 13Andrei Fetisov, 14Sergei Panov, 15Vitaly Nosov (Coach:Sergei Belov)
1998 FIBA World Cup: finished2nd among 16 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5Igor Kudelin, 6Zakhar Pashutin, 7Evgeni Kisurin, 8Dmitri Domani, 9Valeri Tikhonenko, 10Sergei Babkov, 11Mikhail Mikhailov, 12Nikita Morgunov, 13 Igor Kurashov, 14Sergei Panov, 15Vitaly Nosov (Coach:Sergei Belov)
1999 EuroBasket: finished6th among 16 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5Igor Kudelin, 6Alexander Petrenko, 7Evgeni Kisurin, 8Evgeniy Pashutin, 9Valeri Tikhonenko, 10Sergei Babkov, 11 Igor Kurashov, 12Zakhar Pashutin, 13Ruslan Avleev, 14Sergei Panov, 15Vitaly Nosov (Coach:Sergei Belov)
2000 Olympic Games: finished8th among 12 teams
4Sergei Chikalkin, 5Valentin Kubrakov, 6Aleksandr Bashminov, 7Evgeni Kisurin, 8Nikita Morgunov, 9Sergei Bazarevich, 10Evgeniy Pashutin, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Andrei Fetisov, 13Andrei Kirilenko, 14Sergei Panov, 15Ruslan Avleev (Coach:Stanislav Eremin)
2001 EuroBasket: finished5th among 16 teams
4 Anton Ioudine, 5 Alexandre Bachminov, 6Sergei Panov, 7Igor Kudelin, 8Sergei Chikalkin, 9Nikita Morgunov, 10Evgeniy Pashutin, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12 Alexander Miloserdov, 13Andrei Kirilenko, 14Aleksey Savrasenko, 15Petr Samoylenko (Coach:Stanislav Eremin)
2002 FIBA World Cup: finished10th among 16 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5Aleksandr Bashminov, 6Sergei Panov, 7Igor Kudelin, 8Sergei Chikalkin, 9Nikita Morgunov, 10Evgeniy Pashutin, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Victor Khryapa, 13Andrei Kirilenko, 14Ruslan Avleev, 15Aleksey Savrasenko (Coach:Stanislav Eremin)
2003 EuroBasket: finished8th among 16 teams
4Vasily Karasev, 5 Denis Ershov, 6Fedor Likholitov, 7 Mikhail Soloviev, 8Valentin Kubrakov, 9Petr Samoylenko, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Sergei Monia, 13Andrei Kirilenko, 14Dmitri Domani, 15Aleksey Savrasenko (Coach: Sergei Elevich)
2005 EuroBasket: finished8th among 16 teams
4Anton Ponkrashov, 5J.R. Holden, 6Fedor Likholitov, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Nikita Morgunov, 9Petr Samoylenko, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Sergei Monia, 13Andrei Kirilenko, 14 Andrei Ivanov, 15Aleksey Savrasenko (Coach:Sergei Babkov)
2007 EuroBasket: finished1st among 16 teams
4Nikita Shabalkin, 5J.R. Holden, 6Sergei Bykov, 7Andrei Kirilenko(C) &(MVP), 8Nikita Morgunov, 9Petr Samoylenko, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Sergei Monia, 13Anton Ponkrashov, 14Aleksey Savrasenko, 15Nikolay Padius (Coach:David Blatt)
2008 Olympic Games: finished9th among 12 teams
4Andrey Vorontsevich, 5J.R. Holden, 6Sergei Bykov, 7Andrei Kirilenko(C), 8Nikita Morgunov, 9Petr Samoylenko, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Zakhar Pashutin, 12Sergei Monia, 13Vitaly Fridzon, 14Aleksey Savrasenko, 15Victor Keyru (Coach:David Blatt)
2009 EuroBasket: finished7th among 16 teams
4Andrey Vorontsevich, 5Nikita Kurbanov, 6Sergei Bykov, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Kelly McCarty, 9Dmitri Sokolov, 10Fedor Dmitriev, 11Egor Vyaltsev, 12Sergei Monia, 13Anton Ponkrashov, 14Aleksei Zozulin, 15Timofey Mozgov (Coach:David Blatt)
2010 FIBA World Cup: finished7th among 24 teams
4Andrey Vorontsevich, 5Evgeny Kolesnikov, 6Sergei Bykov, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Alexander Kaun, 9Alexey Zhukanenko, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Anton Ponkrashov, 12Sergei Monia, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 14Evgeny Voronov, 15Timofey Mozgov (Coach:David Blatt)
2011 EuroBasket: finished3rd among 24 teams
4Andrey Vorontsevich, 5Timofey Mozgov, 6Sergei Bykov, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Alexey Shved, 9Nikita Shabalkin, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Sergei Monia, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 14Anton Ponkrashov, 15Andrei Kirilenko (Coach:David Blatt)
2012 Olympic Games: finished3rd among 12 teams
4Alexey Shved, 5Timofey Mozgov, 6Sergey Karasev, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Alexander Kaun, 9Evgeny Voronov, 10Victor Khryapa, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Sergei Monia, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 14Anton Ponkrashov, 15Andrei Kirilenko (Coach:David Blatt)
2013 EuroBasket: finished21st among 24 teams
4Sergey Karasev, 5Dmitri Sokolov, 6Evgeny Valiev, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Evgeny Voronov, 9Dmitry Kulagin, 10Alexey Shved, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Sergei Monia, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 14Aleksey Savrasenko, 15Anton Ponkrashov (Coach:Vasily Karasev)
2015 EuroBasket: finished17th among 24 teams
1Andrey Zubkov, 4Evgeny Baburin, 5Ruslan Pateev, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 9Egor Vyaltsev, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Sergei Monia, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 14Anton Ponkrashov(C), 20Andrey Vorontsevich, 32Andrey Desyatnikov, 41Nikita Kurbanov (Coach:Evgeniy Pashutin)
2017 EuroBasket: finished4th among 24 teams
1Alexey Shved, 4Evgeny Baburin, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Vladimir Ivlev, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Andrey Zubkov, 13Dmitry Khvostov, 15Timofey Mozgov, 20Andrey Vorontsevich, 22Dmitry Kulagin, 30Mikhail Kulagin, 41Nikita Kurbanov (Coach:Sergei Bazarevich)
2019 FIBA World Cup: finished12th among 32 teams
2Andrei Sopin, 3Sergey Karasev, 4Evgeny Baburin, 6 Grigory Motovilov, 7Vitaly Fridzon, 8Vladimir Ivlev, 11Semyon Antonov, 12Andrey Zubkov, 20Andrey Vorontsevich, 30Mikhail Kulagin, 31Evgeny Valiev, 41Nikita Kurbanov (Coach:Sergei Bazarevich)
1993–2015:Reebok
2015–March 1, 2022:Adidas (deal suspended by Adidas in response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine)[33][34]
2015–present:Norilsk Nickel[33]
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