The DR Congo national basketball team (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Équipe nationale de basketball de Congo DR) represents

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

in men's international

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

competitions, it is controlled by the

Basketball Federation of Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo Basketball Federation ''(Febaco)'' is the governing body for men's and women's basketball in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Febaco is an affiliate of FIBA Africa and its offices are located in Kinshasa. ...

. (french: link=no, République démocratique du Congo Fédération de basket-ball) The team has appeared in the FIBA Africa Championship, but has yet to appear in the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

. Its biggest success to date was the Final Four placement at the 1975 FIBA Africa Championship when it competed as Zaire.

History

DR Congo joined the

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

in 1963 and made their first tournament debut twelve years later, during the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

AfroBasket. In the following year, they played in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

AfroBasket championship. Congo ended in the fourth place after a 2–3 record. After a 6th place in 1980, the team missed the tournament for the next 27 years. During

AfroBasket 2007 AfroBasket 2007 was the 24th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. The tournament was hosted by Angola, in the ci ...

, DR Congo returned and finished 15th. After another 10-year absence, the country played in the

AfroBasket 2017 FIBA AfroBasket 2017 was the 29th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was jointly hosted by Tunisia and Senegal. Angola was proposed by FIBA Africa to host the tournament, an offer dec ...

where they reached the quarter-finals after upsetting

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in the group phase. In August 2022,

Jonathan Kuminga Jonathan Malangu Kuminga (born October 6, 2002) is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top small forward in the 2021 class ...

joined the Congolese team to become the first

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) player to play for the national team. Kuminga had just won his first

NBA champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

ship with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

Performances

FIBA Basketball World Cup

DR Congo has never appeared in the

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

, but has played in the qualifying rounds.

AfroBasket

Fourth place

FIBA AfroCan

Champions Fourth place

Team

Current roster

''Roster in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers of August 27, 2022.''

Head coaches

Notable eligible players

Top scorers

The following players were the DR Congo's top scorers in their AfroBasket tournaments:

References

External links

FIBA profileAfricabasket – DR Congo Men National Team
{{National sports teams of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

1963 establishments in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)