The Nigeria men's national basketball team represents

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

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 ...

, and it is governed by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). In March 2021, the global governing body

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 ...

ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basketball nation. After the 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Rio, Nigeria was ranked 16th in the

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, making them the top climber in FIBA rankings from 2015. Nigeria is the only African nation to beat 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 ...

. Nigeria is also the first African team to qualify for the

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through the

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. This was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams of

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and

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. In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

History

The history of basketball in Nigeria goes as far back as the late 1950s when Walid Zabadne served as the first basketball coach to train Nigerians. At the time, Nigeria's only basketball court was situated in the Syrian Club in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. Walid Zabadne continued teaching young Nigerians to become basketballers and when Nigeria's basketball federation was organized, he took them to several basketball competitions across Africa. In view of his role as the pioneer of basketball in Nigeria, Walid Zabadne has been deemed "father of Nigerian basketball’’. Also worthy of note is that Zabadne was later made the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation. Nigeria's national basketball team joined

in 1964. Since the mid-1990s, the team has enjoyed unprecedented success, due to an increasing amount of talents from Nigeria as well as an orchestrated recruitment of American

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

and professional players of Nigerian descent. The D'Tigers (as the team is nicknamed) qualified for the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

, marking only the second time in the country's history that they qualified to 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 ...

. Team Nigeria usually plays its home games at the 3,000-capacity Indoor Sports Hall in

2006 FIBA World Championship

Nigeria took part in the

in Japan. They were drawn in Group A with

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, and

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. They surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated by

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in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the same record as the defending world champion

2012 Summer Olympics

Nigeria competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their lone victory coming against

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in their Olympics debut. The team's roster, assembled by coach Ayodele Bakare, primarily comprised former college basketball players.

2016 Summer Olympics

Nigeria qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

tournament as champions of

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. They finished at the bottom of Group B, winning one game against

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and losing four games. The team entered the 2016 games with several injured players and little financial support from the Nigerian government.

2020 Summer Olympics

As the top African team at the

2019 FIBA Basketball 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 ...

, Nigeria qualified for their third consecutive Olympics berth for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. The team, which included seven NBA players and was led by

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assistant coach Mike Brown, was called up for training in the United States in June 2021. D'Tigers defeated the

90–87 during an exhibition game in

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on 10 July. The victory, described as an " upset", was the first for an African team against the United States.

Team honours and achievements

Intercontinental *

FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup The FIBA Stanković Continental Champions’ Cup, also known as FIBA Borislav Stanković World Cup and FIBA Mini Basketball World Cup, is an international tournament of basketball for men's national teams. It is held annually by the Interna ...

**Bronze:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, 2016 *

Basketball at the Commonwealth Games Basketball at the Commonwealth Games has been held three times, with regular full-court basketball included in 2006 and 2018, and 3x3 introduced in 2022. Following the 2018 games, regular full-court basketball was replaced as an optional Commonw ...

**Fourth-place:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Continental *

AfroBasket The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa Africa is the world's s ...

**Gold Medal: Gold medal africa

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 ...

**Silver Medal: Silver medal africa

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

**Bronze Medal: Bronze medal africa

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

All Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

**Gold Medal:

**Bronze Medal: 1995,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Competitive record

Olympic Games

FIBA World Cup

AfroBasket

FIBA AfroCan

African Games

*1973 – ? *1987 – ? *1995 – *1999 – *2003 – *2007 – *2011 – *2015 –

FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup

*2013 – *2016 –

Commonwealth Games

Team

Current roster

''Roster for the

Afrobasket 2021 FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August 20 ...

.''

Depth chart

Notable players

Several players of the Nigeria national team have had success playing for professional teams, in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, or in Europe, including: * Julius Nwosu * Akin Akingbala * Peter Aluma *

Aloysius Anagonye Aloysius Anagonye (born February 10, 1981) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. Professional career Anagonye played for Italian Serie A sides Villaggio Solidago Livorno (2004–2005) and Premiata Montegranaro (2006–2 ...

* Tunji Awajobi *

Ike Diogu Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela. Family and early life Diogu's parents, natives of Ni ...

Obinna Ekezie Obinna Ralph Ekezie (born August 22, 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and other leagues. His name, Obinna, means "Father's heart". He is a direct descendant of the 19th century Igbo warrior and busi ...

Ebi Ere Ebikekeme Hasain Fere “Ebi” Ere (; born August 2, 1981) is an American-Nigerian former professional basketball player. High school and college career Ere attended McLain High School and played two seasons of junior college basketball for B ...

* Benjamin Eze *

Ekene Ibekwe Ekenechukwu "E-Beks" Ibekwe (born July 19, 1985) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player for Urunday Universitario of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol. He played college basketball for the University of Maryland at College Park ...

Ike Iroegbu Ikenna Ugochukwu Iroegbu (born March 14, 1995) is an American-born Nigerian basketball player for Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. Iroegbu played college basketball for Washington State University, and is a member of the Nigerian national team. ...

(born 1995) *

Gani Lawal Gani Oladimeji Lawal Jr. (born November 7, 1988) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Georgia Tech. High school career During his time at Norcross High School, Lawal was named to the McDonald ...

Michael Olowokandi Michael Olowokandi (born 3 April 1975) is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in London, he played collegiately for the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California. Nicknamed "the Kandi Man," Olowokand ...

Olumide Oyedeji Olumide Oyedeji (born 11 May 1981) is a Nigerian former professional basketball center. He is now President oHoops N' Readbasketball club. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons. He is the President of Nig ...

Ime Udoka Ime Sunday Udoka ( ; born August 9, 1977) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in the United States, he represented ...

Jeff Varem Jeff Varem (born 16 July 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player. He formerly played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. He also played as an import for the Powerade Tigers, Coca-Cola Tigers and the Barako Bull ...

Al-Farouq Aminu Al-Farouq Ajadi Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represented the Nigeria national basketball team interna ...

Festus Ezeli Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue (born October 21, 1989) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores be ...

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

never played for Nigeria at the international senior level, and would eventually play for the

, after becoming a US citizen in 1993.

Past rosters

2009 African Championship: finished 5th among 16 teams Akin Akingbala,

Chamberlain Oguchi Chamberlain "Champ" Nnaemeka Oguchi (born April 28, 1986) is a former Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. His name "Emeka" is an abbreviation of the Igbo name "Chukwuemeka" (meaning "God has done so much"). College career O ...

Deji Akindele Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player. Collegiate career Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters and St. Marys. During Akindele's first season in Chicago, the 7'1" center averag ...

, Michael Efevberha,

Michael Umeh Michael Umeh (born 18 September 1984) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for ESSM Le Portel of the French LNB Pro A. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria because both of his parents emigrated f ...

Josh Akognon Joshua Emmanuel Akognon (born February 10, 1986) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars and Cal State Fullerton Titans. Standing at , he played at the point guar ...

Ejike Ugboaja Ejike Christopher Ugboaja (born 28 May 1985) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for BC Mark Mentors of the Nigerian Premier Basketball League (NPBL). He is also the founder of Ejike Ugboaja Foundation. Professional ca ...

Gabe Muoneke Nnadubem Gabriel Enyinaya Muoneke (born 7 February 1978, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a Nigerian American professional basketball player. Despite being born in the United States, Muoneke represents Nigeria internationally. Muoneke attended Cypress F ...

, Jayson Obazuaye, Benson Egemonye (Coach:

John Lucas II John Harding Lucas II (born October 31, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketba ...

) 2011 African Championship: finished 3rd among 16 teams Solomon Tat,

Abubakar Usman Abū Bakr () is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims. Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, Aboubacar, Abubaka ...

, Chinedu Onyeuku, Ike Ofoegbu,

, Stanley Gumut,

Derrick Obasohan Derrick Osamuyi Obasohan (born April 18, 1981) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Texas at Arlington. College career Obasohan played high school basketball at Alief E ...

Ezenwa Ukeagu Ezenwa Ukeagu is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player born in Los Angeles, California. He played for the Washington State University Cougars. He is 6'8 and 253lbs. He was on the Nigerian National Basketball Team in 2011. ...

, Jayson Obazuaye,

(Coach:

Ayo Bakare Ayodele "Ayo" Bakare (born 20 March 1960) is a Nigerian professional basketball coach. He is the current head coach of Ebun Comets and has coached several years. Club coaching career Bakare has been the head coach of the Ebun Comets in the Ni ...

)

: finished 10th among 12 teams

Tony Skinn Tony Oludewa Jeffrey Skinn (born February 8, 1983) is a NigerianAmerican basketball coach and former player. He played guard for the George Mason Patriots from 2003 to 2006, later playing professionally for six years. Skinn is currently the head ...

, Ade Dagunduro,

Koko Archibong Aniekan Okon “Koko” Archibong (born May 10, 1981) is a former Nigerian-American professional basketball player. At a height of tall, he played at the small forward position. Early life and education Koko Archibong was born as Aniekan Okon ...

Richard Oruche Richard Dean Oruche (born August 30, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player of Nigerian descent. He is tall, and he played at the shooting guard position. Oruche played with the senior men's Nigerian national basketball team ...

Alade Aminu Abdul Wahab "Alade" Aminu (born September 14, 1987) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, before playing professionally in France, Turkey, Italy, Israel, a ...

(Coach:

) 2020 Olympic roster:

A 15-player roster was announced on 6 July 2021. The final squad was released on 20 July 2021.

Head coaches

Vladislav Lučić Vladislav "Lale" Lučić ( sr-cyr, Владислав Лучић; born August 7, 1941) is a Serbian former professional basketball coach and player. Biography He won 2 National Championships with Red Star Belgrade in 1992–93 and 1993–94 sea ...

1975–1980 *

Sam Vincent James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He is the current coach of MBB of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Vincent was Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 1981, while playing with ...

2004–2006 * Sani Ahmed 2006 *

Robert McCullum Robert L. McCullum (born June 20, 1954) is an American men's college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Florida A&M. He previously served as the head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball t ...

2007 *

2009 * Sani Ahmed 2010, 2013 *

2011–2014 * William Voigt 2015–2017 * Alexander Nwora 2017–present Associate Headcoach from 2020–present. * Mike Brown 2020–2022 *

Alan Major Alan M. Major (born June 21, 1968) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of Patriots BBC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 2010 to 2015. Before be ...

July 2022–present

Kit

Manufacturer

2019–present:

Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

References

External links

*
FIBA Profile
at FIBA Archive
Afrobasket – Nigeria Men National Team

Videos

Nigeria – Team Highlights – AfroBasket 2015
Youtube.com video {{Nigeria squad 2011 FIBA Africa Championship Men's national basketball teams

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 ...

1971 establishments in Nigeria Basketball teams established in 1971 National sports teams established in 1971