The Estonia men's national basketball team () represents

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

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 ...

matches. They are controlled by the Estonian Basketball Association. The team competed in their first international tournament at the 1936 Olympic Games. Estonia has also qualified for the

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 ...

six times overall, with their best results coming in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. However, after 1939, Estonia halted national team activities due to the

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Estonia would later rejoin

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 ...

in 1991, after regaining

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 the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

History

Early years (1920s–1930s)

Estonia played their first ever international match against their Baltic neighbors Latvia, on 29 April 1924, a 20–16 defeat in Riga. Ten years later, on 30 November 1934, Estonia would become a member of

. Two years after that, the national team played in their first international tournament at the 1936 Olympic Games, held in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was the first Olympic tournament to hold basketball as an official medal event. Led by head coach Herbert Niiler, Estonia played their opening match of the tournament against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where the team came away with a 34–29 win. The national team lost their subsequent second round game to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

28–52, but passed the consolation round and faced the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the third round, losing 22–39. EuroBasket 1937

Estonia participated at the European Basketball Championship for the first time in

. The team won its first game against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

44–15, but failed to advance past the group stage after suffering a 15–20 defeat against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and a 20–30 defeat against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Estonia would finish out the rest of the tournament to place fifth in the final rankings, after defeating

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 ...

30–20 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 ...

41–19. Two years later at the

EuroBasket 1939 The 1939 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1939, was the third FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took par ...

, the tournament used a different format from the previous championship, with eight teams facing off in a round-robin competition. Estonia would finish the tournament with a (4–3) record and once again finished in fifth place at the event. Heino Veskila was the tournament's scoring leader averaging 16.7 points per game. In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and the team was disbanded.

National team restored (1990s)

After the restoration of independence, the Estonian Basketball Association rejoined FIBA in 1991. Estonia

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for

EuroBasket 1993 The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entere ...

, held in Germany. Despite missing star players Martin Müürsepp and Tiit Sokk, the team, coached by

Jaak Salumets Jaak Salumets (born 30 January 1949 in Paide) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player and coach who played mostly at the forward position. Salumets is also a former Estonian Reform Party politician who was a member of the Riigikogu ...

won their group in the preliminary round, finishing ahead of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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 hosts and eventual champions

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In the second round, Estonia finished third in their group and advanced to the quarter-finals, where the team lost to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

61–82 to be eliminated. In the classification rounds, Estonia defeated

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 ...

99–91 and lost to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

80–119, finishing the championship in sixth place with a (6–5) record.

Aivar Kuusmaa Aivar Kuusmaa (born 12 June 1967) is an Estonian basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played mostly at the shooting guard position. He won the USSR Premier Basketball League in 1991 as a member of the KK Kalev, Tallinn ...

was the team's scoring leader with 19.9 points per game.

2000s–2010s

Estonia once again qualified for the EuroBasket, after failing to qualify for the tournament on three occasions after 1993. The team went (7–3) during the

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

period to reach

EuroBasket 2001 The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a ...

, held in Turkey. Coached by Üllar Kerde, Estonia lost all three of their preliminary round matches against Germany,

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, failing to advance past the group stage and finishing the championship with a disappointing (0–3) record and a 14th place finish. Martin Müürsepp led the team in scoring with 18.3 points per game, while Margus Metstak collected 6.0 rebounds per game, and Rauno Pehka and

Tanel Tein Tanel Tein (born 10 January 1978) is an Estonian former professional basketball player. He was named Estonian Player of the Year in 2008. Tein played one season of college basketball for the St. Francis Terriers. Professional career Tein starte ...

averaged 2.7 assists per game. After 2001, Estonia failed to qualify for another major international basketball tournament for 14 years. Although the team competed at the second tier Division B competition in 2011, winning their group. Tiit Sokk 2006

Coached by Tiit Sokk, Estonia

for

EuroBasket 2015 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 Sept ...

, with preliminary round matches held in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia. Estonia's first two performances were poor as the team suffered heavy defeats in matches against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

57–80 and Belgium 55–84. However, the team bounced back with a 78–71 victory over

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, their first EuroBasket victory since 1993. The next game saw Estonia defeated in a close game by Lithuania 62–64. In their final group phase match, Estonia were up against Latvia, which resulted in a 64–75 loss and failing to advance to the knockout stage. Estonia finished the championship in 20th place with a (1–4) record.

Gregor Arbet Gregor Arbet (born 19 June 1983) is a former Estonian professional basketball player and the current assistant coach for TalTech of the Estonian Korvpalli Meistriliiga. He is a 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall shooting guard and small forward. He rep ...

was the team's scoring leader at 11.6 points per game, while Siim-Sander Vene averaged 6.4 rebounds and Sten Sokk contributed 4.2 assists per game. In

for

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 ...

, Estonia won their first two games against,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to put the team at a record of (2–0). However, Estonia would drop three of their final four matches to eliminate the team from qualifying. After missing their opportunity to reach EuroBasket 2017, Estonia turned their focus toward qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The team first went through European Pre-Qualifiers, where they accumulated a (3–1) record during the process, to advance. Entering the first round of European Qualifiers, Estonia would split their first four matches for a record of (2–2), before losing their final two games to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

respectively. Although by defeating Great Britain in their first match of the qualifiers between the two, it proved enough for Estonia to move on to the second and final phase of European qualifiers. There, the team lost their first four games of the round, before managing to salvage their final two matches before being eliminated. In October 2019, the Estonian Basketball Association named Jukka Toijala as the new head coach of the national team.

2020s

Estonia competed in the

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

with group phase games played in Milan, Italy. The team started the tournament with a 62–83 loss to the hosts, followed by two narrow defeats against Ukraine (73–74) and Croatia (70–73). Estonia then won 94–62 against Great Britain before losing to Greece 69–90. The team failed to advance to the round of 16 and finished the tournament in 19th place. Maik-Kalev Kotsar averaged the team-best 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Kerr Kriisa led the team with 5.8 assists per game. On 22 May 2025 Estonia was selected as one of the co-hosts of the EuroBasket 2029, giving Estonia automatic qualification as co-host. Group phase matches will take place in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

at the Unibet Arena.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

EuroBasket

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

2026

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 21 and 24 February 2025 against

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Depth chart

Recent call-ups

Current notable players who have played for the national team: , valign="top" , ; Legend: *Age – describes age
on 21 August 2025 *Club – describes last
club

Coaches

Past rosters

1936 Olympic Games: finished 9th among 23 teams 3 Erich Altosaar, 4

Artur Amon Artur "Ats" Amon (17 February 1916 – 3 September 1944) was an Estonian basketball player. He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Amon was born in Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population o ...

, 5 Aleksander Illi, 6 Vladimir Kärk, 8 Robert Keres, 9 Evald Mahl, 10 Aleksander Margiste, 11 Bernhard Nooni, 12 Leonid Saar, 13 Heino Veskila, 14 Georg Vinogradov (Coach: Herbert Niiler) ----

1937 EuroBasket The 1937 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1937, was the second FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took pa ...

: finished 5th among 8 teams 3 Oskar Erikson, 4 Aleksander Illi, 5 Vladimir Kärk, 6 Robert Keres, 7 Evald Mahl, 8 Albert Suurna, 9 Heino Veskila, 10 Ralf Viksten, 11 Alfred Zimmermann (Coach: Herbert Niiler) ----

1939 EuroBasket The 1939 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1939, was the third FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eight national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) took par ...

: finished 5th among 8 teams 3 Valdeko Valdmäe, 4 Oskar Erikson, 5 Herbert Tillemann, 6 Ralf Viksten, 7 Georg Vinogradov, 8

, 9 Hans Juurup, 10 Erich Altosaar, 11 Heino Veskila, 13 Evald Mahl (Coach: Herbert Niiler) ----

1993 EuroBasket The 1993 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1993, was the 28th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Germany between 22 June and 4 July 1993. Sixteen national teams entere ...

: finished 6th among 16 teams 4 Toomas Kandimaa, 5

, 6 Erki Kivinukk, 7 Ivo Saksakulm, 8 Margus Metstak, 9 Andrus Nagel, 10 Indrek Rumma, 11 Sergei Babenko, 12 Marek Noormets, 13 Aleksandr Karavajev, 14

Gert Kullamäe Gert Kullamäe (born 3 June 1971) is an Estonian basketball coach and a former professional basketball player who currently coaches the Estonian team BC Pärnu Sadam. Kullamäe mostly played at the shooting guard position and was a great 3-poin ...

, 15 Rauno Pehka (Coach:

) ----

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

: finished 14th among 16 teams 4

, 5 Indrek Varblane, 6 Toomas Kandimaa, 7

Valmo Kriisa Valmo Kriisa (born 18 May 1974) is an Estonian former professional basketball player. Career Kriisa played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. Kriisa started his senior club career with "KK Tartu" team ( Tartu Ülikool/Rock) in 19 ...

, 8 Margus Metstak, 9 Andre Pärn, 10 Indrek Rumma, 11

Tarmo Kikerpill Tarmo Kikerpill (born June 13, 1977) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player. He is 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) in height and he played at the small forward or Power forward (basketball), power forward position. Pro career Kikerpill sta ...

, 12 Marek Noormets, 13 Martin Müürsepp, 14 Toomas Liivak, 15 Rauno Pehka (Coach: Üllar Kerde) ----

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 Sept ...

: finished 20th among 24 teams 4 Rain Veideman, 5 Tanel Sokk, 6

Gert Dorbek Gert Dorbek (born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian retired basketball player. He is a tall shooting guard. He has also represented the Estonian national basketball team internationally. Professional career Dorbek began playing basketball in Tiit S ...

, 7 Sten Sokk, 8

Janar Talts Janar Talts (born 7 April 1983) is a former Estonian professional basketball player who is the sporting director of University of Tartu basketball team. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he played at the Power forward (basketball), power forwar ...

, 9

, 10 Erik Keedus, 11 Siim-Sander Vene, 13 Joosep Toome, 14 Kristjan Kangur, 15 Reinar Hallik, 20 Tanel Kurbas (Coach: Tiit Sokk) ----

2022 EuroBasket The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

: finished 19th among 24 teams 0 Henri Drell, 2 Sander Raieste, 7 Sten Sokk, 9 Matthias Tass, 11 Siim-Sander Vene, 15 Maik-Kalev Kotsar, 20 Rauno Nurger, 21 Janari Jõesaar, 22 Martin Dorbek, 33

Kristjan Kitsing Kristjan Kitsing (born December 11, 1990) is an Estonian professional basketball player for TalTech of the Estonian–Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Kitsing is also a member of the Estonia national basketball te ...

, 44 Kerr Kriisa, 77 Kristian Kullamäe (Coach: Jukka Toijala)

References

External links

*
Estonian Basketball Association website

Estonia FIBA profile

Estonia National Team – Men
at Eurobasket.com

at FIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Estonia men's national basketball team Basketball in Estonia Men's national basketball teams Basketball, men National sports teams established in 1924 Estonia national basketball team