The Ukraine men's national basketball team () represents

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 ...

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 ...

competitions. They are controlled by the

Basketball Federation of Ukraine The Basketball Federation of Ukraine () also known as FBU is the governing body of basketball in Ukraine. The federation was established and joined FIBA in 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. They are headquartered in Kyiv. The Baske ...

. After

Ukrainian Independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publi ...

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 ...

in 1991, and joining

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 1992, the national team played their first official match against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 30 May 1993. Their biggest success so far on the international stage has been qualifying 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 ...

nine times, and reaching 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 ...

for the first time in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

History

Gaining Independence

Before the

's independence from the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, Ukrainian players took part on the Soviet Union national team during international competition. The Soviets were one of the strongest national teams in the world during this period.

EuroBasket 1997

Ukraine made their

debut in

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 ...

. Their first match at the tournament was not a warm welcome for the national team, as they were demolished by

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 ...

54–82. With less than 24 hours to regroup for their next game, Ukraine faced

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 ...

where they lost again, this time by the score of 81–60. In their final match of group play, they defeated

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 ...

88–95, to earn their first ever win at the EuroBasket. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the team to advance to the knockout stage, as they were relegated to the classification rounds for 13th–16th place. There, the team defeated

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 ...

, and

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 finish the tournament 13th overall.

EuroBasket 2013

After failing to qualify for the EuroBasket in 1999, along with uninspiring results at the finals in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

respectively, Ukraine was eager to turn their fortunes around at

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France men's national basketball ...

. Ukraine was placed into

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 ...

to begin their tournament run. The national team was victorious in their first three matches of the tournament, against

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 ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and Germany. Heading into their fourth match against the heavily favoured

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 ...

, Ukraine displayed genuine toughness in a losing effort to the eventual tournament champions 71–77. In their final game of the preliminary phase, the team turned around and displayed resilience in blowing out

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 ...

68–87 to advance to the second group phase. There, they were blasted in their first match of group play against Latvia, but redeemed themselves with a quality victory over

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 ...

a few days later. Ukraine went on to lose their final game in the group to

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 ...

, however, it was enough to clinch a spot into the knockout rounds. In the quarter-finals, Ukraine was paired up against

, although the national team would come up short 84–72. With the loss, Ukraine went on to play in classification matches to determine 5th–8th place. The team defeated

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 ...

, before falling to Slovenia to finish up in sixth place. It was the best result for Ukraine at the EuroBasket to that point.

2014 FIBA World Cup

Ukraine made their first appearance on to the global stage at the

2014 FIBA World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from 30 August to 14 September 2014. Hosted by Spain, it was the la ...

, through their surprising performance at EuroBasket 2013. Led by former

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 ...

head coach

Mike Fratello Michael Robert Fratello (born February 24, 1947), nicknamed "the Czar", is an American sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional basketball coach. He is currently a part-time Color commentator, analyst for FanDuel Sports Net ...

, the national team won their first ever match in the World Cup, defeating the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

72–62. With their historic win under their belt, the team went into their second match of the tournament confident. However, Finland would pull out a narrow 81–76 victory to drop Ukraine to a record of (1–1). Entering their third match, Ukraine went up against

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 ...

, and the national team didn't disappoint. They eventually won a hard-fought 64–58 contest, before their pivotal game versus

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. With a berth into the Round of 16 on the line, Ukraine needed one more victory to advance. But they were unsuccessful in the crucial match, as they lost 73–61, to head into their do-or-die game against the tournament favourite

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 ...

in a dire position. In the must win game for Ukraine, the national team got off to a strong start, to even possess the lead after the first period. However, the Americans flexed their dominance thereafter, which led to the team being eliminated from the tournament altogether by the score of 71–95.

EuroBasket 2017

After failing to make it past the group stage 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 ...

, Ukraine looked to make amends on the continental stage at

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 ...

. Ukraine went through qualifiers where the team finished at a record of (4–2), to earn a spot back to the EuroBasket finals. Placed into

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 ...

to begin the tournament, Ukraine was defeated in their first two matches against

and

. In their third game, the national team would eventually pickup their first victory against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

81–88. Sitting at a record of (1–2), Lithuania handed Ukraine a damaging 62–94 defeat. With one game remaining in group play, and a spot into the knockout stage on the line, the team was up against one of the tournament co-hosts

. The national team ultimately displayed supreme urgency to punch their ticket to advance, with a dominant 64–88 win. Entering the Round of 16, however, was where Ukraine would come up short, by getting thoroughly defeated by the eventual champions of the tournament Slovenia 55–79.

2019 FIBA World Cup qualification

For the

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of qualifying to the

2019 FIBA 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 ...

, Ukraine was drawn into

. The national team would open up their qualifying campaign with a solid road victory against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

76–84. They would eventually attain a (3–3) record in the group to advance to the second and final phase of qualifying. In the second group phase of qualifiers, Ukraine started things off with a strong home win against

. Although the team dropped their second match of group play to

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 ...

90–84 to fall to (1–1). After that loss for Ukraine, the team would finish the rest of the qualifiers at a record of (5–7) overall, and were eliminated from World Cup contention.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

EuroBasket

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

Team

Current roster

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

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 ...

Depth chart

Notable players

Current notable players who have played for the national team:

Head coach position

Past rosters

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 13th among 16 teams 4 Oleksandr Okunsky, 5 Grihoriy Khyzhniak, 6 Leonid Yaylo, 7 Ihor Molchanov, 8 Victor Savchenko, 9

Alexander Lokhmanchuk Alexander Lokhmanchuk (; born 28 May 1973 in Kerch, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a former professional basketball player of Ukraine men's national basketball team The Ukraine men's national basketball team () represents Ukraine in interna ...

, 10 Denis Zhuravlov, 11 Roman Rubchenko, 12 Vadym Pudzyrey, 13 Yevheniy Murzin, 14 Dmytro Bazelevsky, 15 Ihor Kharchenko (Coach: Zaurbek Khromaev) ----

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 Andriy Lebedev, 5 Vadym Pudzyrey, 6 Viktor Kobzystyy, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Viacheslav Ievstratenko, 9 Serhiy Lishchuk, 10 Nikolay Khryapa, 11 Oleksandr Okunsky, 12 Dmytro Markov, 13 Dmytro Korablov, 14 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 15 Volodymyr Ryzhov (Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk) ----

2003 EuroBasket The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

: finished 14th among 16 teams 4 Andrii Lebediev, 5 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 6 Oleksandr Skutelnyk, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Artur Drozdov, 9 Sergiy Moskalenko, 10 Nikolay Khryapa, 11 Oleksandr Okunsky, 12 Viacheslav Ievstratenko, 13

, 14 Andriy Botichev, 15

Grigorij Khizhnyak Grigorij Khizhnyak (alternate spelling: Grygorii Khizhniak, ; July 16, 1974 – October 5, 2018) was a Ukrainian professional basketball player. Standing at a height of , he played at the center position. He was the EuroLeague's leader in bloc ...

(Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk) ---- 2005 EuroBasket: finished 16th among 16 teams 4 Andrii Lebediev, 5 Artem Butskyy, 6 Viktor Kobzystyy, 7 Stanislav Balashov, 8 Igor Kryvych, 9 Volodymyr Koval, 10 Oleksandr Rayevskyy, 11 Rostyslav Kryvych, 12 Serhiy Lishchuk, 13

Oleksiy Pecherov Oleksiy Ivanovych Pecherov (; born 8 December 1985) is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player. He was also a member of the Ukraine national basketball team. Professional career The Washington Wizards selected him with the 18th pick i ...

, 14 Volodymyr Gurtovyy, 15 Slava Medvedenko (Coach: Gennadi Zaschuk) ---- 2011 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 24 teams 4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5 Denys Lukashov, 6

Steve Burtt Jr. Steven Dwayne Burtt Jr. (; born March 7, 1984) is an American-born naturalized Ukrainian professional basketball player. Born in the United States, he received Ukrainian citizenship in 2011 and played for the Ukraine national basketball team, Uk ...

, 7 Oleksandr Kolchenko, 8 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 9

Dmytro Zabirchenko Dmytro Zabirchenko (born 15 June 1984) s a Ukrainian retired basketball player and current coach. Zabirchenko played with the Ukraine national basketball team at the FIBA EuroBasket 2011 and FIBA EuroBasket 2013. Coaching career Starting from ...

, 10 Oleg Saltovets, 11

, 12 Serhiy Lishchuk, 13 Danylo Kozlov, 14

Kyrylo Fesenko Kyrylo Anatoliyovych Fesenko (; born 24 December 1986) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player who last played for Al-Nasr SC of the Libyan Division I Basketball League. Standing at , he plays the center position. He wears a size 18 shoe a ...

, 15

Viacheslav Kravtsov Viacheslav "Slava" Kravtsov (; born 25 August 1987) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Borneo Hornbills of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). He also represents the Ukraine national basketball team, Ukrainian national bask ...

(Coach:

) ----

2013 EuroBasket EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in the ...

: finished 6th among 24 teams 4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5 Eugene Jeter, 6 Olexandr Mishula, 7 Dmytro Gliebov, 8 Sergiy Gladyr, 9 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 10 Kyrylo Natyazhko, 11

, 12 Maxym Korniyenko, 13 Ihor Zaytsev, 14 Artem Pustovyi, 15

(Coach:

) ----

: finished 18th among 24 teams 4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5 Eugene Jeter, 6 Olexandr Mishula, 7 Svi Mykhailiuk, 8 Sergiy Gladyr, 9 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 10 Kyrylo Natyazhko, 11

, 12 Maksym Korniyenko, 13 Ihor Zaytsev, 14 Artem Pustovyi, 15

(Coach:

) ----

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 22nd among 24 teams 4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5

Jerome Randle Jerome Jerry Randle (born May 21, 1987; ) is an American-Ukrainian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the California Golden Bears before playing professionally in several European countries. Randle has a Ukra ...

, 6 Olexandr Mishula, 7 Denys Lukashov, 8

(C), 9 Oleksandr Sizov, 10 Stanislav Tymofeyenko, 11 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 12 Maksym Korniyenko, 13 Ihor Zaytsev, 14 Artem Pustovyi, 15 Pavlo Krutous (Coach:

Yevgen Murzin Yevhen Murzin (born September 24, 1965 in Novosibirsk) is a former Soviet and Ukrainian men's basketball player and current Ukrainian basketball coach. Currently he is a manager of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague team Kharkivski Sokoly. He c ...

) ----

2017 EuroBasket 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 ...

: finished 15th among 24 teams 4 Maksym Pustozvonov, 5 Oleksandr Kolchenko, 7 Denys Lukashov, 9 Ruslan Otverchenko, 11 Oleksandr Lypovyy, 12 Maksym Korniyenko, 13 Vyacheslav Bobrov, 14 Ihor Zaytsev, 15

, 23 Artem Pustovyi, 24 Vladimir Konev, 31 Olexandr Mishula (Coach:

) ----

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 12th among 24 teams 5 Ivan Tkachenko, 7 Denys Lukashov, 10 Svi Mykhailiuk, 13 Vyacheslav Bobrov, 23 Artem Pustovyi, 25

Alex Len Oleksii Yuriyovych Len (; born June 16, 1993), commonly known as Alex Len (), is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before being drafted, he played two seasons for ...

, 30 Issuf Sanon,
32 Bohdan Blyzniuk, 44 Dmytro Skapintsev, 45

Vitaliy Zotov Vitalij Zotov (born March 3, 1997) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for CBet Jonava of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He is a 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the p ...

, 52

Volodymyr Gerun Volodymyr Gerun (born 25 March 1994) is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for Osaka Evessa of the B.League. Playing career Gerun started out with his home town club BC Dnipro for the 2011–12 Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague season.< ...

, 55 Illya Sydorov (Coach:

Ainars Bagatskis Ainars Bagatskis (born 29 March 1967) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and coach, who currently works as the head coach of Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). Playing career Club career During his club playi ...

)

References

External links

*
Ukraine FIBA profileUkraine National Team – Men
at Eurobasket.com

Videos

Austria v Ukraine - Highlights - FIBA EuroBasket 2022 - Qualifiers
Youtube.com video {{National sports teams of Ukraine 1992 establishments in Ukraine

History

Gaining Independence

EuroBasket 1997

EuroBasket 2013

2014 FIBA World Cup

EuroBasket 2017

2019 FIBA World Cup qualification

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Olympic Games

EuroBasket

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

Team

Current roster

Depth chart

Notable players

Head coach position

Past rosters

See also

References

External links

Videos