The Latvia men's national basketball team () represents

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 ...

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 ...

. They are organized and run by the Latvian Basketball Association. Latvia has reached the European Basketball Championship 15 times, with their ultimate success occurring during the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, when they became the first team to win the tournament in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

. Four years later, they had another impressive run to come away with the silver in

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 ...

. Although after 1939, Latvia were forced to suspend their national team operations, 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 ...

. Latvia regained

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 ...

in 1991, with their national team taking part in international competition once again a year later.

History

Origins of the team

On 26 November 1923, the Latvijas Basketbola Savienība was founded, earlier than most basketball federations from other countries. On 29 April 1924, Latvia played their first international game versus

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 ...

, winning it 20–16. In the winter of 1924, the first men's basketball championship was held, while the first women's championship was organized in 1933. Latvians, like their

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

neighbors

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

and

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people () are a Finnic ethnic group native to the Baltic Sea region in Northern Europe, primarily their nation state of Estonia. Estonians primarily speak the Estonian language, a language closely related to other Finni ...

, also began playing basketball in the 1920s, quickly rising as the strongest of the Baltic teams. On 13 December 1925 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 ...

, when the Lithuanian national team played their first international game. Latvia easily swept them with the score of 41–20. Later on, Latvia continued to dominate the future three-times European champions as well (41–29 and 123–10). In fact, Latvia had one of the world's strongest national basketball teams. The first Latvian teams consisted of students and pupils, who were trained by coaches of the American

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

(Young Men's Christian Association). Latvia also was one of the eight countries which signed the founding act of

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 ...

on 18 June 1932 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, along with

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The Latvian representative in this event was Jāzeps Šadeiko.

EuroBasket 1935

The Latvians won the first European basketball championship, the EuroBasket 1935 held by the

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

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations. ...

continental federation. They defeated

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 ...

in the preliminary round,

in the semi-finals, and

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 ...

in the final to finish at the top of the ten-nation field. Latvia held their opponents to 49 points over three games, the lowest points-against average in the tournament. Their scoring rate, 98 points over three games for 32.67 points per game, was second only to

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 ...

is the smallest country in population to ever win 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 ...

. In 2012, Latvian film director Aigars Grauba directed the historical

sports drama A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus o ...

'' Dream Team 1935'' about the journey of the Latvian team towards winning the title.

1936 Summer Olympic Games (Berlin 1936)

The Latvia national basketball team participated in the first appearance of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. Latvia were reigning European champions and were considered to be one of the pre-tournament favorites. Although the Olympics did not go that well for the Latvians. They began the tournament with a 20–17 victory over

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. However, they were soundly beaten 23–34 by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and after suffering another defeat to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

23–28, the Latvians did not qualify for the knockout stage, unlike their neighbors

. This was the first and only appearance for Latvia at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

as of 2019 (their female counterparts made their first appearance in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

EuroBasket 1937

At the

EuroBasket 1937 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 p ...

, the reigning champions got off to a great start in their first game in the tournament by blowing out

44–11. In their second game they lost a close one to

to drop to (1–1) in the standings. They finished up group play with a needed win against

to put them in a three-way tie for the lead of the four-team group. However, it wouldn't be enough for the national team to reach the semi-finals as they came out on the bottom of the tie-breaker against Poland and France. This result came about despite the Latvians being the highest-scoring team in the entire tournament and allowing fewer opponent points than any of the other teams in their group. Being in the bottom half of the preliminary group meant that the team could finish no better than fifth. In the classification semifinal, Latvia faced

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 ...

, which had withdrawn after their first two preliminary matches. They advanced to the 5th/6th place playoff, which they lost to

41–19.

EuroBasket 1939

, despite losing twice, including a rematch of the 1937 game against Estonia, Latvia secured silver medals with 5 wins. Poland, which also had a 5–2 record, finished third as Latvia had won the match between the two teams. The tournament's opening and, in retrospect, decisive game between Latvia and

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 ...

ended in a dramatic late victory for the hosts and eventual champions Lithuania, souring the sports relations between the two countries and leading to the cancellation of the 1939 Baltic Cup. One of the 1939's vice-champions, Alfrēds Krauklis, once said: "Frankly saying – these three

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

raised the European basketball. Now they say that its Spanish, and so what? Let them say... And I say – it's our merit!".

Soviet and Nazi period (1940–1991)

Due to Soviet and Nazi occupations, Latvians were unable to represent Latvia in

organized tournaments or the

. Instead, they were forced to play for the Soviet Union national team. Horrific times in

began. In 1940 the massive people deportations started, implemented by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

. Thousands of Latvians were forced to leave their homeland, thousands of them died due to the active warfare during World War II. Though, despite all the cruel challenges, basketball was continued to be played and retained its popularity in Latvia. In 1941 a Baltic States tournament was organized in

Kaunas Sports Hall Kaunas Sports Hall (), also known as the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Hall is the second largest arena of Kaunas, Lithuania. It is the first arena built in the residential Žaliakalnis neighbourhood of Kaunas specially for basketball in Europe a ...

. The

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

team won the final against the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

, 38–33. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

, Maigonis Valdmanis became the first Latvian representative on the Soviet squad, which won the Olympic silver medals that year. A few years later two other Latvian basketball stars joined the team:

Jānis Krūmiņš Jānis Krūmiņš (30 January 1930 – 20 November 1994) was a Soviet-Latvian professional basketball player. Helped by his height (about 220 cm, or 7'3"), he was the first giant center that dominated under European baskets, for years. As ...

and

Valdis Muižnieks Valdis Muižnieks (February 22, 1935 – November 29, 2013) was a Latvian basketball player. Muižnieks was born in Riga. He played for Rīgas ASK and won 3 Euroleague titles (1958, 1959, 1960) and 4 Soviet national championships (1955, 1956, ...

. Later on, the trio won two

titles and two times became Olympic vice-champions together. In the 1950s, Rīgas ASK, coached by the Soviet legend Aleksandr Gomelsky, became the major force of the Soviet Union and even Europe by winning three consecutive

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

titles from 1958 to 1960. The club's roster had multiple European champions in Jānis Krūmiņš, Maigonis Valdmanis and Valdis Muižnieks. Furthermore, in 1960 TTT Riga won the European Cup for Women's Clubs, undoubtedly turning

into the capital of basketball with the two major European basketball titles held by the single city's clubs at the same time. And it only was the first of the stunning 18 European titles. In later years other Latvian basketball stars appeared, such as Valdis Valters and

Igors Miglinieks Igors Miglinieks (born 4 May 1964) is a retired Soviet Union, Soviet and Latvian professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach. He played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. Professional career Miglinieks was a member of ...

, both of whom were eventually crowned as Olympic champions. Valdis Valters is considered to be one of Europe's greatest basketball players of the 1980s. In addition to his Olympic title, he also won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and became the European champion twice, being named as the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of EuroBasket 1981.

After the restoration of independence (from 1991)

On 4 May 1990 Latvia declared the country's independence 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 ...

. Consequently, in September 1991 its basketball federation was re-affiliated with FIBA. Though, despite having some remarkable players like Valdis Valters,

, Ainars Bagatskis,

Kaspars Kambala Kaspars Kambala (born 13 December 1978) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and a former professional boxer. Standing at , he plays at the position of forward-center. High school A 1997 graduate of Homestead High School in Mequo ...

, Andris Biedriņš, Latvia failed to recover its inter-war glory. Their best result after restoring the country's independence is the 5th place achieved at the 2023 World Cup. Although, basketball is slowly regaining its power in Latvia with the help of the medals-winning youth squads.

EuroBasket 2013

During EuroBasket 2013, Latvia began their tournament run with two wins 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 ...

, and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

before facing longtime

rival

. Although in the highly anticipated match between the two nations,

prevailed 67–59. Latvia then lost their next match versus

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, but rebounded to win their final fixture in group play against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

to advance. In the second group phase of the tournament Latvia displayed immediate dominance in their first game of group play 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 ...

winning 86–51. It turned out to be the only win Latvia would record in the group, as they were eventually eliminated.

EuroBasket 2015

As one of the hosts for EuroBasket 2015 in

, Latvia began their campaign at the tournament victorious over

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 ...

78–67. In their second match, they were once again pitted against their rivals

. Latvia looked to avenge their lost from the prior EuroBasket showdown between the two, as the national team got off to a strong start in the 1st quarter. Unfortunately, the Latvians were unable to maintain the momentum they started the match with, as they fell to their rivals again, 68–49. While it was demoralizing for Latvia to be defeated in that manner in front of their home crowd, they recovered quickly to win two out of the next three matches they played to move on to the knockout stage. There, Latvia beat

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 ...

to advance to the quarter-finals, but ultimately fell short to the eventual

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

ist

EuroBasket 2017

At EuroBasket 2017, Latvia entered the competition with high expectations, as they fielded one of their most potent lineups ever. With the addition of Latvian star

Kristaps Porziņģis Kristaps Porziņģis (; born 2 August 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Unicorn" for his ability to make plays and shoot 3-pointers as a Center ...

joining the senior national team for the first time, Latvia was poised to go on a long tournament run. But in their first match they were out lasted by a veteran Serbian squad, 92–82. Although, the national team bounced back in a huge way dismantling

92–64, with Porziņģis and

Jānis Timma Jānis Timma (2 July 1992 – 17 December 2024) was a Latvian professional basketball player. Standing at , he mainly played at the small forward position. He also represented the senior Latvia men's national basketball team, Latvia national team ...

leading the way in scoring with 27 points apiece. They also went on to win their next three matches in group play to finish with a (4–1) record, to earn a spot in the knockout rounds. In their round of 16 match up, they throttled

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

100–68. Latvia ran into a buzz saw in their quarter-finals match though, falling to the eventual champions

. Latvia finished fifth in the tournament overall, reaching their best post-war result in the history of the national team, in which Kristaps Porziņģis debuted with astonishing averages of 23.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks at the age of 22.

Recent years (2019–2022)

On 1 August 2019, Latvia named former player

Roberts Štelmahers Roberts Štelmahers (born November 19, 1974) is a Latvian professional basketball coach and former player who played the point guard position. He is the current head coach for Czarni Słupsk of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Štelmahers w ...

the new head coach of the national team. He replaced Arnis Vecvagars. In March 2022, Latvia was selected as one of the four co-hosts 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 ...

, where they will host one preliminary phase group, as well as the knockout rounds.

Road to the 2023 FIBA World Cup

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Latvia vs Spain 2-50

After the signing of Luca Banchi as head coach in 2021, Latvia went on to qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, making it the first time the national team would appear at the World Cup finals. Latvia entered the competition with high hopes, however, their biggest star

was unable to represent the team during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, due to failing to recover from an injury. Nevertheless, Latvia surprisingly eliminated European vice-champions

in the first round by winning a decisive game 88–86 and qualified to the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup with two victories (also versus

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

109–70) and one 101–75 loss to

. One of the Latvian team leaders Dāvis Bertāns described victory versus France as "the biggest win in Latvian basketball history since 1935". In the second round Latvia achieved yet another memorable 74–69 victory versus the reigning world champions

. In the next game Latvia crushed

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

104–84 and advanced to the quarter-finals as the second-best team in the group, leaving Spain and Brazil behind without playoffs. But in quarter-final Latvia lost to

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 last seconds with the result 79–81 and did not directly qualify for the

Paris 2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. Latvia finished the tournament in fifth place after defeating

(82–87) and Lithuania (98–63).

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 20 and 23 February 2025 against

and

Depth chart

Notable players

Current notable players from Latvia who have played for the national team:

Head coach history

Notable players

Retired players: * Andris Biedriņš – was the highest ever

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

ed Latvian basketball player until 2015. In the 2004 NBA draft, the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

selected him #11. Only Kristaps Porzingis has been drafted higher. *

– one of the best 2000s Latvian basketball players. * Sandis Valters – also one of the best 2000s Latvian basketball players. * Ainars Bagatskis – long-term national team's member. *

– Olympic champion with the Soviet Union squad. * Valdis Valters – World champion. Valters returned to the court after his first retirement and represented the Latvia national team in the Qualifying tournament of the 1992 Olympics. * Alfreds Krauklis – one of the key players in 1939. * Karlis Arents – one of the key players in 1939. * Visvaldis Melderis – team's third leading scorer in 1939. * Voldemārs Šmits – team's second leading scorer in 1937 and

. * Rūdolfs Jurciņš – national team's leading scorer in

, tournament's leading scorer 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 ...

Past rosters

1935 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 10 teams 3 Eduards Andersons, 4

Aleksejs Anufrijevs Aleksejs Anufrijevs (Russian language, Russian: Алексей Никитич Ануфриев; 15 January 1912 – April 1945) was a Latvians, Latvian basketball player of Russian origin. Anufrijevs won a gold medal at the 1935 EuroBasket compe ...

, 5 Mārtiņš Grundmanis, 6 Herberts Gubiņš, 8 Rūdolfs Jurciņš, 9 Jānis Lidmanis, 10 Visvaldis Melderis, 11 Džems Raudziņš (Coach: Valdemārs Baumanis) ---- 1936 Olympic Games: finished 18th among 21 teams 1 Rūdolfs Jurciņš, 2 Visvaldis Melderis, 3 Eduards Andersons, 4 Džems Raudziņš, 5 Voldemārs Elmūts, 6 Mārtiņš Grundmanis, 7 Maksis Kazaks (Coach: Valdemārs Baumanis) ---- 1937 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 8 teams 3 Eduards Andersons, 4

, 5 Mārtiņš Grundmanis, 6 Janis Jansons, 7 Rūdolfs Jurciņš, 8 Andrejs Krisons, 9 Aleksandrs Martinsons, 10 Visvaldis Melderis, 11 Džems Raudziņš, 12 Voldemārs Šmits (Coach: Ādolfs Grasis) ---- 1939 EuroBasket: finished 2nd among 8 teams 3 Aleksandrs Vanags, 4 Alfrēds Krauklis, 5 Teodors Grinbergs, 6 Maksis Kazaks, 8 Voldemārs Šmits, 9 Jānis Graudiņš, 11 Karlis Arents, 12 Juris Solovjovs, 14 Karlis Satins, 18 Visvaldis Melderis (Coach: Valdemārs Baumanis) ----

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 9th among 16 teams 4 Edgars Šneps, 5 Jānis Āzacis, 6 Igors Meļņiks, 7 Kārlis Muižnieks, 8 Ivars Zankovskis, 9 Ainars Bagatskis, 10 Dzintars Jaunzems, 11 Ivars Liepa, 12 Raimonds Miglinieks, 13 Edmunds Valeiko, 14 Andrejs Bondarenko, 15 Aigars Zeidaks (Coach: Armands Krauliņš) ----

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...

: finished 16th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Jānis Āzacis, 6 Edmunds Valeiko, 7

, 8 Kārlis Muižnieks, 9 Edgars Šneps, 10 Raimonds Miglinieks, 11 Ainars Bagatskis, 12 Ivars Liepa, 13 Ralfs Jansons, 14 Andrejs Bondarenko, 15 Igors Meļņiks (Coach:

) ---- 2001 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Aigars Vītols, 6 Kaspars Cipruss, 7

, 8 Edmunds Valeiko, 9 Māris Ļaksa, 10 Kristaps Valters, 11 Raimonds Miglinieks, 12 Ainars Bagatskis, 13 Raitis Grafs, 14

, 15 Arnis Vecvagars (Coach: Armands Krauliņš) ---- 2003 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Aigars Vītols, 6 Trojs Ostlers, 7

, 8 Armands Šķēle, 9 Edgars Šneps, 10 Kristaps Valters, 11 Māris Ļaksa, 12 Ainars Bagatskis, 13 Raitis Grafs, 14

, 15 Arnis Vecvagars (Coach: Armands Krauliņš) ---- 2005 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Aigars Vītols, 6 Armands Šķēle, 7

, 8 Jānis Blūms, 9 Sandis Valters, 10 Kristaps Valters, 11 Ivars Timermanis, 12 Mārtiņš Skirmants, 13 Raitis Grafs, 14 Kaspars Cipruss, 15 Kristaps Janičenoks (Coach: Kārlis Muižnieks) ---- 2007 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Aigars Vītols, 6 Armands Šķēle, 7 Jānis Blūms, 8 Raimonds Vaikulis, 9 Gatis Jahovičs, 10 Sandis Valters, 11 Pāvels Veselovs, 12 Kaspars Cipruss, 13 Raitis Grafs, 14 Kristaps Janičenoks, 15 Andris Biedriņš (Coach: Kārlis Muižnieks) ---- 2009 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 16 teams 4 Uvis Helmanis, 5 Aigars Vītols, 6 Armands Šķēle, 7 Jānis Blūms, 8 Ernests Kalve, 9 Kristaps Valters, 10 Gatis Jahovičs, 11

, 12 Rolands Freimanis, 13 Artūrs Štālbergs, 14 Kristaps Janičenoks, 15 Andris Biedriņš (Coach: Kęstutis Kemzūra) ---- 2011 EuroBasket: finished 21st among 24 teams 4 Mārtiņš Meiers, 5 Dairis Bertāns, 6 Rolands Freimanis, 7 Jānis Blūms, 8 Mareks Jurevičus, 9 Edgars Jeromanovs, 10 Rihards Kuksiks, 11 Mareks Mejeris, 12 Dāvis Bertāns, 13 Jānis Strēlnieks, 14 Artūrs Bērziņš, 15 Andrejs Šeļakovs (Coach: Ainars Bagatskis) ---- 2013 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 24 teams 4 Mārtiņš Meiers, 5 Mareks Mejeris, 6 Rolands Freimanis, 7 Jānis Blūms, 8 Jānis Bērziņš (basketball), Jānis Bērziņš, 9 Dairis Bertāns, 10 Rihards Kuksiks, 11 Armands Šķēle, 12 Kristaps Janičenoks, 13 Jānis Strēlnieks, 14 Kaspars Bērziņš, 15 Andrejs Šeļakovs (Coach: Ainars Bagatskis) ---- 2015 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 24 teams 5 Mareks Mejeris, 6 Rolands Freimanis, 7 Jānis Blūms (C), 9 Dairis Bertāns, 10

, 12 Kristaps Janičenoks, 13 Jānis Strēlnieks, 14 Kaspars Bērziņš, 19 Kaspars Vecvagars, 23 Haralds Kārlis, 31 Žanis Peiners, 33 Mārtiņš Meiers (Coach: Ainars Bagatskis) ---- 2017 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 24 teams 6

, 7 Jānis Blūms (C), 8 Dāvis Bertāns, 9 Dairis Bertāns, 10

, 11 Rolands Šmits, 12 Kristaps Janičenoks,
13 Jānis Strēlnieks, 21 Aigars Šķēle, 24 Andrejs Gražulis, 31 Žanis Peiners, 33 Mārtiņš Meiers (Coach: Ainars Bagatskis) ---- 2023 FIBA World Cup: finished 5th among 32 teams 00 Rodions Kurucs, 8 Dāvis Bertāns, 9 Dairis Bertāns (C), 11 Rolands Šmits, 12 Artūrs Strautiņš, 18 Klāvs Čavars, 21 Aigars Šķēle,
24 Andrejs Gražulis, 32 Anžejs Pasečņiks, 47 Artūrs Kurucs, 55 Artūrs Žagars, 66 Kristers Zoriks (Coach: Luca Banchi)

Record against other teams

*Friendly matches not counted

Notes

References

External links

*
Latvia FIBA profileLatvia National Team – Men
at Eurobasket.com

at FIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Latvia National Basketball Team Men's national basketball teams Latvia national basketball team, National sports teams of Latvia FIBA EuroBasket–winning countries 1924 establishments in Latvia National sports teams established in 1924

History

Origins of the team

EuroBasket 1935

1936 Summer Olympic Games (Berlin 1936)

EuroBasket 1937

EuroBasket 1939

Soviet and Nazi period (1940–1991)

After the restoration of independence (from 1991)

EuroBasket 2013

EuroBasket 2015

EuroBasket 2017

Recent years (2019–2022)

Road to the 2023 FIBA World Cup

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

EuroBasket

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

2026

Team

Current roster

Depth chart

Notable players

Head coach history

Notable players

Past rosters

Record against other teams

See also

Notes

References

External links