The Switzerland men's national basketball team (french: Équipe de Suisse de basketball, german: Schweizer Basketballnationalmannschaft, it, Nazionale di pallacanestro della Svizzera, rm, Squadra naziunala da ballape da la Svizra) represents
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
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 (appr ...
. The managing body for the national team is Swiss Basketball.
Switzerland has competed at five
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 ...
tournaments (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
,
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
,
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
,
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
,
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
) in their history. The national team has also made three appearances at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
(
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
,
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
). However, Switzerland has struggled over the past decades to once again qualify to international competitions. They also continue their pursuit to clinch their debut trip to the
FIBA 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 ...
.
History
EuroBasket 1935
Switzerland hosted the first
European Basketball Championship
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 ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
at
EuroBasket 1935
The 1935 FIBA European Championship, commonly called EuroBasket 1935, was the first FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA, as well as a test event preceding the first Olympic basketball tournament at the 1936 Summer Olym ...
. The national team finished fourth in the ten team tournament, defeating
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the preliminary round to advance to the semifinals. There they lost to
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
Switzerland did not play in the European championship again until the post-war, at
EuroBasket 1946
The 1946 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1946, was the fourth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA and the first since 1939 due to World War II. Ten national teams affiliated with the Internat ...
, which they hosted. There, they placed second in their three-team preliminary group after losing to the eventual champions Czechoslovakia 20–17, but defeating
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
38–33. That preliminary round finish put the Swiss into a 5th/6th place playoff against the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, which Switzerland won 36–25.
EuroBasket 1951
The next Swiss entry into the European Basketball Championship was at the
EuroBasket 1951
The 1951 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1951, was the seventh FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) en ...
tournament in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Switzerland finished the preliminary round with a 1–3 record, 4th in their group. They fared little better in the first classification, taking 3rd in the group with a 1–2 record. In the second classification round, the Swiss won the classification 13-16 and 13/14 games to finish in 13th place of 18 teams, with a 4–5 record.
EuroBasket 1953
EuroBasket 1953
The 1953 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1953, was the eighth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Seventeen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) en ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
was the fourth appearance of the Swiss. The tournament began poorly for the team, as they finished last in their preliminary pool at 0–3. It got somewhat better for them after that, as they took second in their first classification pool with 2 wins and a loss. They dropped their 9-12 semifinal to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, but defeated
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
in the 11/12 final to take 11th of 17 overall.
EuroBasket 1955
Switzerland competed next at the
EuroBasket 1955
The 1955 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1955, was the ninth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) enter ...
tournament in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. Their 2–2 record in preliminary round put them in 3rd of the five-team group and relegated them to the classification rounds. They had similar results there, again taking a 2–2 record and 3rd of 5 teams. They won their classification 13-16 semifinal, but lost to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in the 13/14 game to finish 14th of 18 teams.
Later years
The
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
and the 1955 EuroBasket are the last major international basketball tournaments that the country qualified for. Since then, it lost its international significance despite occasional strong showings at qualification games. E.g. Switzerland surprisingly beat former European Champion
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
at the qualification for the
2015 EuroBasket
EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 S ...
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
Petar Aleksić
Petar Aleksić (born 2 November 1968) is a Bosnian-Swiss professional basketball coach and former player. He is the current head coach of Fribourg Olympic of the Swiss Basketball League (SBL).
From 2013 until 2016, he coached Switzerland's natio ...
Thabo Sefolosha
Thabo Patrick Sefolosha (; born May 2, 1984) is a Swiss former professional basketball player. He has also played in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets, in the Turkish Basketball ...
– First Swiss-born player to get drafted and play in the
NBA
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 St ...
.
*
Clint Capela
Clint N'Dumba Capela (born May 18, 1994) is a Swiss professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the Hawks' franchise leader in career field-goal percentage, having led the NBA in the sa ...
René Karlen
René Karlen (born 18 April 1907, date of death unknown) was a Swiss basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known a ...
Pierre Carlier
Pierre Carlier (born 3 December 1915, date of death unknown) was a Swiss basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially kno ...
, 3
René Karlen
René Karlen (born 18 April 1907, date of death unknown) was a Swiss basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known a ...
1946 EuroBasket
The 1946 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1946, was the fourth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA and the first since 1939 due to World War II. Ten national teams affiliated with the Internat ...
Claude Chevalley
Claude Chevalley (; 11 February 1909 – 28 June 1984) was a French mathematician who made important contributions to number theory, algebraic geometry, class field theory, finite group theory and the theory of algebraic groups. He was a foundin ...
Claude Landini
Claude Landini (1 March 1926 – 30 May 2021) was a Swiss basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 19 ...
1951 EuroBasket
The 1951 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1951, was the seventh FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) en ...
Marcel Moget
Marcel Moget (born 23 April 1931) is a Swiss basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as th ...
Erima
Erima is a suburb of Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong ...
*2017:
Li-Ning
Li-Ning Company Limited is a Chinese sportswear and sports equipment company founded by former Olympic gymnast Li Ning. The company endorses a number of athletes and teams worldwide.
History
The company was founded in 1989 by Li Ning, a former ...
FIBA EuroBasket 2017 FIBA.com, Retrieved 31 August 2017.
*2018: 14Fourteen
Sponsor
2017:
Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...
Switzerland men's national under-20 basketball team
The Switzerland men's national under-20 basketball team is a national basketball team of Switzerland, administered by the Swiss Basketball.Switzerland men's national under-18 basketball team
The Switzerland men's national under-18 basketball team is a national basketball team of Switzerland, administered by the Swiss Basketball. It represents the country in men's international under-18 basketball competitions.
Toni Rocak who later pl ...
*
Switzerland men's national under-16 basketball team
The Switzerland men's national under-16 basketball team is the national junior representative for Switzerland in international under-16 basketball competitions. They are governed by Swiss Basketball.
The team competes at the FIBA U16 European Cha ...