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 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and it is overseen by the
Nigeria Basketball Federation
The Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) is the governing body for men's and women's basketball in Nigeria. NBBF has been an affiliate of FIBA Africa since 1963, and its offices are located in Abuja and Lagos.
FIBA competitions
The senior men's ...
(NBBF).
In March 2021, the global governing body
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 nam ...
ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basketball nation. After the 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Rio, Nigeria was ranked 16th in the
FIBA World Rankings
The FIBA Men's World Ranking are FIBA's rankings of national basketball teams. FIBA ranks both men's and women's national teams for both senior and junior competitions. It also publishes combined rankings for all mixed-sex competitions.
Not incl ...
, making them the top climber in FIBA rankings from 2015.
Nigeria is the only African nation to beat the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Nigeria is also the first African team to qualify for the Summer Olympics through the
FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from the different FIBA World zones quali ...
. This was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams of Lithuania and
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
History
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 in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
. 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 the Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Nigeria's national basketball team joined
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 nam ...
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 American
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
and professional players of Nigerian descent. The D'Tigers (as the team is nicknamed) qualified for the
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
, marking only the second time in the country's history that they qualified to the FIBA World Cup. Team Nigeria usually plays its home games at the 3,000-capacity
Indoor Sports Hall
The following is a list of indoor arenas.
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Canada
United States
Oceania
South America
See also
*Arena
*Stadium
*Sport venue
*Lists of stadiums
*List of buildings
This is a list of ...
in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
.
2006 FIBA World Championship
Nigeria took part in the
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...
in Japan. They were drawn in Group A with
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. They surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated by
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the same record as the defending world champion Serbia and Montenegro.
2012 Summer Olympics
Nigeria competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their lone victory coming against
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
in their Olympics debut. The team's roster, assembled by coach Ayodele Bakare, primarily comprised former college basketball players.
AfroBasket 2015
AfroBasket 2015 was the 28th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. It also served as the qualifying tournament for FIBA Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament ...
. They finished at the bottom of Group B, winning one game against
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and losing four games. The team entered the 2016 games with several injured players and little financial support from the Nigerian government.
2020 Summer Olympics
As the top African team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Nigeria qualified for their third consecutive Olympics berth for the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
. The team, which included seven NBA players and was led by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, was called up for training in the United States in June 2021. D'Tigers defeated the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
90–87 during an exhibition game in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
on 10 July. The victory, described as an " upset", was the first for an African team against the United States.
Team honours and achievements
Intercontinental
*
FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
The FIBA Stanković Continental Champions’ Cup, also known as the FIBA Mini Basketball World Cup, is an international tournament of basketball for men's national teams, that is held annually by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) ...
**Bronze:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, 2016
*
Basketball at the Commonwealth Games
Basketball was first included in the Commonwealth Games in the 2006 games in Melbourne and returned as part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
Following the 2018 Games, regular full-court basketball was replaced as an optional Co ...
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
**Bronze Medal:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
Afrobasket 2021
FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August 20 ...
Ike Diogu
Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela.
Family and early life
Diogu's parents, natives of Nig ...
Benjamin Eze
Benjamin Ndubuisi Eze (born February 8, 1981) is a Nigerian-Italian former professional basketball player. He is a 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) tall center.
Professional career
Eze was brought from Nigeria to Russia during the 1998-99 season, where ...
Ike Iroegbu
Ikenna Ugochukwu Iroegbu (born March 14, 1995) is an American-born Nigerian basketball player for Treviso Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Iroegbu played college basketball for Washington State University, and is a member of the Nigerian ...
(born 1995)
*
Gani Lawal
Gani Oladimeji Lawal Jr. (born November 7, 1988) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Trotamundos in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. He played college basketball for Georgia Tech.
High school career
During his time at Norcross Hi ...
*
Michael Olowokandi
Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California. Nicknamed "The Kandi Man," Olowokandi ...
*
Olumide Oyedeji
Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian professional basketball center who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons.
Professional career
Oyedeji played at the 1999 and 2000 Nike Hoop Summits. He was select ...
*
Ime Udoka
Ime Sunday Udoka ( ; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), currently suspended by the team for the ...
*
Jeff Varem
Jeff Varem (born 16 July 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player. He formerly played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. He also played as an import for the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Barako Bull Energy Boosters i ...
*
Al-Farouq Aminu
Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays internationally with the Nigeria national basketba ...
*
Festus Ezeli
Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue (born October 21, 1989) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player. He previously played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Vanderbilt before being s ...
Hakeem Olajuwon never played for Nigeria at the international senior level, and would eventually play for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Deji Akindele
Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Halcones de Xalapa of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP).
Collegiate career
Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters ...
Josh Akognon
Joshua Emmanuel Akognon (born February 10, 1986) is a Nigerian–American professional basketball player who last played for Montakit Fuenlabrada of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for Washington State and Cal State Fullerton. Standing ...
Ejike Ugboaja
Ejike Christopher Ugboaja (born 28 May 1985) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for BC Mark Mentors of the Nigerian Premier Basketball League (NPBL). He is also the founder of Ejike Ugboaja Foundation.
Professional ca ...
,
Gabe Muoneke
Nnadubem Gabriel Enyinaya Muoneke (born 7 February 1978, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player. Despite being born in the United States, Muoneke represents Nigeria internationally.
Muoneke attended Cypress F ...
Ime Udoka
Ime Sunday Udoka ( ; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), currently suspended by the team for the ...
,
Abubakar Usman
Abū Bakr ( ar, أبو بكر ) is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims.
Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, ...
Stanley Gumut
Stanley Gumut (born 21 February 1986) is a Nigerian professional basketball player. He is a native of Jos, Plateau State.Derrick Obasohan,
Ejike Ugboaja
Ejike Christopher Ugboaja (born 28 May 1985) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for BC Mark Mentors of the Nigerian Premier Basketball League (NPBL). He is also the founder of Ejike Ugboaja Foundation.
Professional ca ...
,
Ezenwa Ukeagu
Ezenwa Ukeagu is a former professional basketball player born in Los Angeles, California. He played for the Washington State University Cougars. He is 6'8 and 253lbs. He was on the Nigerian National Basketball Team in 2011.
Early Years
U ...
Olumide Oyedeji
Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian professional basketball center who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons.
Professional career
Oyedeji played at the 1999 and 2000 Nike Hoop Summits. He was select ...
Tony Skinn
Tony Oludewa Skinn (born February 8, 1983) is a NigerianAmerican basketball coach and former player. He played guard for the George Mason University Patriots from 2003–2006, later playing professionally for six years. Skinn is currently an as ...
Ike Diogu
Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela.
Family and early life
Diogu's parents, natives of Nig ...
,
Al-Farouq Aminu
Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays internationally with the Nigeria national basketba ...
Ejike Ugboaja
Ejike Christopher Ugboaja (born 28 May 1985) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for BC Mark Mentors of the Nigerian Premier Basketball League (NPBL). He is also the founder of Ejike Ugboaja Foundation.
Professional ca ...
Olumide Oyedeji
Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian professional basketball center who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons.
Professional career
Oyedeji played at the 1999 and 2000 Nike Hoop Summits. He was select ...
(Coach: Ayo Bakare)
2020 Olympic roster:
A 15-player roster was announced on 6 July 2021. The final squad was released on 20 July 2021.
Sam Vincent
James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...
2004–2006
*
Sani Ahmed
Sani Ahmed is a Nigerian professional 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 #Shoo ...
Sani Ahmed
Sani Ahmed is a Nigerian professional 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 #Shoo ...
Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...
Nigeria women's national basketball team
The Nigeria women's national basketball team, also known as D'Tigeress, represents Nigeria in international women's basketball competition, and are regulated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Nigeria. Nig ...
National team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...