The Slovakia men's national basketball team () represents

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in 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 (appro ...

competition. The supervising body is the Slovak Basketball Association (SBA). Slovakia is one of the newest national basketball teams in the world, having split from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

following the dissolution of the unified state in 1993. They joined

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

later that year, and played in their first international match against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Slovakia to date does not have much history on the international level. Although they have attempted to qualify for major tournaments such as

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

and the

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

, but have yet to reach qualification.

History

The Czechoslovak era

Until 1993,

was a part of

, with Slovak born players taking part on the Czechoslovakia national team. One of the most notable players who was born in Slovakia, and played for the Czechoslovakia national team to achieve success at the international level was

Stanislav Kropilák Stanislav Kropilák (10 June 1955 – 14 October 2022) was a Slovak basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), he was a power forward- center. He is considered to be one of the best European players of his generation. Kropilák was ...

. He helped lead Czechoslovakia to three medal finishes at the

, in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

After independence

After gaining

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

from Czechoslovakia, the Slovak national team on numerous attempts during their early years strived to qualify for EuroBasket, but ultimately came up short. In qualification to reach

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, Slovakia was slotted into

Group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

to begin the qualifiers. Slovakia, however, would go on to struggle to a (1–5) record and missing their chance to qualify. For qualification to the

2019 FIBA World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 31 August to 15 September 2019. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, b ...

, Slovakia took part in European Pre-Qualifiers, but were eventually eliminated after amassing a (1–5) record in their group. Slovakia later went through EuroBasket 2022 Pre-Qualifiers, but were once again denied of making it to the continental stage, after finishing with a (3–5) record during pre-qualifying.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

EuroBasket

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 20 and 23 February 2025 against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Depth chart

Head coach position

* Milan Černický – (2004–2010) * Peter Bálint – (2011–2012) * Miroslav Grznár – (2012–2013) * Milan Černický – (2014–2015) *

Ivan Rudež Ivan Rudež (born 22 December 1979) is a Croatian professional basketball coach, now serving as Director of Switzerland's national basketball centre (Centre National du Basketball Suisse) in Lausanne. Coaching career Rudež started as a coach at ...

– (2016–2018) *

Žan Tabak Žan Tabak (born 15 June 1970) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who is now serving as the head coach for Trefl Sopot of the PLK. His basketball career, spanning twenty years, was marked by several notable achievemen ...

– (2019–2021) *

Oleg Meleshchenko Oleg (), Oleh (), or Aleh () is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine, and Belаrus. Origins ''Oleg'' derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blessed". The feminine equival ...

– (2021–2022) *

Aramis Naglić Aramis Naglić (born 28 August 1965) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Inter Bratislava of the Slovak League. His most important trophies as a player include the silver medal with the Croati ...

– (2022–present)

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

References

External links

Official website

Slovakia FIBA profileSlovakia National Team – Men
at Eurobasket.com {{National sports teams of Slovakia Slovakia national basketball team Basketball teams in Slovakia Men's national basketball teams 1993 establishments in Slovakia National sports teams established in 1993