The Iceland men's national basketball team () represents

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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 ...

tournaments. The team is controlled by the Icelandic Basketball Association. Iceland has 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 ...

three times in their history, with the national team making their first appearance in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. They have also participated at smaller European tournaments, such as the

Games of the Small States of Europe The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of nine European small state, small states since 1985. The Games a ...

Recent history

EuroBasket 2015

On 28 August 2014,

qualified for the

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 ...

, entering the finals of the top European competition for the first time in its history. The national team though didn't fare too well in their maiden voyage at the

. Finishing (0-5) in their

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

pool, played 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 ...

with defeats at the hands of

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 ...

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 ...

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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 ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Overall it was a memorable moment for Iceland, where they finally achieved the feat of competing at a major international tournament, after numerous failed qualifications in the past.

EuroBasket 2017

On 17 September 2016, Iceland repeated their success and qualified to the continental tournament once again. The national team finished its qualification group as the runners-up behind

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 above

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, with four wins and two losses. As in the previous edition though, Iceland finished their participation with five loses in five matches played in their

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

pool in

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EuroBasket 2022 qualification

After failing to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Iceland turned the page toward

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 ...

. To attempt to qualify for three consecutive

appearances, Iceland was placed into

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

to begin their pre-qualifying campaign, which began with two straight loses to

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 ...

, and

. Although the national team would pick up their first win in their third game, a rematch with Portugal at home in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. In their final match of group play the team fell to Belgium, and would have to survive the final window of pre-qualifiers if they were to advance. For the final phase of pre-qualifiers, Iceland was placed into Group H, alongside Portugal once again, and

. The national team opened up group play with a tough loss on the road against Portugal 80–79. Looking to even their record at (1-1), Iceland was at home against Switzerland. The match stayed close throughout until

Martin Hermannsson Martin Hermannsson (born 16 September 1994) is an Icelandic professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He also internationally represents the Icelandic national basketball team, w ...

's heroics showed up late in the fourth quarter for Iceland; where his jumpshot in the final seconds gave the home side an momentous 83–82 victory. Heading into their next match the national team looked to capitalize on their last win. They did so in thorough fashion, dismantling Portugal 96–68 to set up one last show down with the Swiss. Heading into the final match day with a place in the qualifiers on the line, Iceland needed to defeat Switzerland on the road in an hostile environment. The specifics for Iceland was clear, either win to clinch a spot, or avoid losing by 18 or more points. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened. As the national team not only lost to Switzerland, but failed to cover the point difference needed to advance. Losing 109–85, eliminating any chance for Iceland to reach the finals for the third straight time.

World Cup 2023 qualification

Going into their last game of the qualifications, Iceland needed a four point win against

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to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. However, despite an 80–77 win, they missed out of qualifying after

Elvar Már Friðriksson Elvar Már Friðriksson (born 11 November 1994) is an Icelandic professional basketball player for Maroussi of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He is also a member of the Icelandic national basketball team. He has twice been named to the Icel ...

's shot at the buzzer rimmed out.

EuroBasket 2025

On 23 February 2025, Iceland qualified for

EuroBasket 2025 The EuroBasket 2025 will be the 42nd edition of the EuroBasket championship, the quadrennial international men's basketball championship organized by FIBA Europe. Like the previous three editions, the tournament will be co-hosted by multiple coun ...

after beating

83–71, and securing second place in

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

Games of the Small States of Europe

EuroBasket

Championship for Small Countries

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

2026

Team

Current roster

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

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Depth chart

Head coach position

* Hilmar Hafsteinsson – (1984) * Einar Bollason – (1985–1987) * László Németh – (1988–1990) * Torfi Magnússon – (1990–1995) * Jón Kr. Gíslason – (1995–1999) * Friðrik Ingi Rúnarsson – (1999–2003) * Sigurður Ingimundarson – (2004–2009) * Peter Öqvist – (2011–2013) * Craig Pedersen – (2014–present)

Individual records

Players with the most caps (games played)

*Players in bold are still active.

Past rosters

2015 EuroBasket: finished 24th among 24 teams 3

, 4 Axel Kárason, 5 Ragnar Nathanaelsson, 6 Jakob Sigurðarson, 8 Hlynur Bæringsson (C),
9 Jón Arnór Stefánsson, 10 Helgi Már Magnússon, 13 Hörður Vilhjálmsson, 14 Logi Gunnarsson, 15 Pavel Ermolinskij,
24 Haukur Pálsson, 29 Ægir Steinarsson (Coach: Craig Pedersen) ---- 2017 EuroBasket: finished 24th among 24 teams 1

, 3 Ægir Steinarsson, 6

Kristófer Acox Kristófer Acox (born 13 October 1993) is an Icelandic basketball player for Valur of the Úrvalsdeild karla and a member of the Icelandic national basketball team, with whom he participated in the EuroBasket 2017. As a member of KR, he won t ...

, 8 Hlynur Bæringsson (C), 9 Jón Arnór Stefánsson,
10

, 13 Hörður Vilhjálmsson, 14 Logi Gunnarsson, 15 Pavel Ermolinskij, 24 Haukur Pálsson, 34

Tryggvi Hlinason Tryggvi Snær Hlinason (born 28 October 1997) is an Icelandic professional basketball for Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB. He began his career in his home country, competing with Þór Akureyri. Tryggvi is a regular member of the Icelandic nationa ...

, 88 Brynjar Þór Björnsson (Coach: Craig Pedersen)

References

External links

Official website

Iceland FIBA profileIceland National Team – Men
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Iceland National Basketball Team

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 ...

Men's national basketball teams 1959 establishments in Iceland National sports teams established in 1959