Nigeria men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Nigeria women's national basketball team.

Nigeria

FIBA ranking	38 1 (1 March 2024) [1]
Joined FIBA	1964
FIBA zone	FIBA Africa
National federation	Nigeria Basketball Federation
Coach	Alan Major
Nickname(s)	D'Tigers
Olympic Games
Appearances	3
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	3
Medals	None
AfroBasket
Appearances	19
Medals	Gold: (2015) Silver: (1997, 1999, 2003, 2017) Bronze: (1995, 2005, 2011)
African Games
Appearances	8
Medals	Gold: (2011) Bronze: (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015)
Home Away
First international
Senegal 101–30 Nigeria   (Dakar, Senegal; 25 December 1971)
Biggest win
Liberia 35–109 Nigeria   (Huambo, Angola; 17 August 2007)
Biggest defeat
United States 156–73 Nigeria   (London, United Kingdom; 2 August 2012)

The Nigeria men's national basketball team represents Nigeria in international basketball, and it is governed by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

In March 2021, the global governing body FIBA ranked Nigeria as Africa's top men's basketball nation. ^[2] After the 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament in Rio, Nigeria was ranked 16th in the FIBA World Rankings, making them the top climber in FIBA rankings from 2015. ^[3]

Nigeria is the only African nation to beat the United States. Nigeria is also the first African team to qualify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. This was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams of Lithuania and Greece. In 2015, Nigeria won its first crown as basketball champion of Africa.

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. 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 FIBA 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 and professional players of Nigerian descent. The D'Tigers (as the team is nicknamed) qualified for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, marking only the second time in the country's history that they qualified to the FIBA World Cup. Team Nigeria usually plays its home games at the 3,000-capacity Indoor Sports Hall in Lagos. ^{[4] [5]}

2006 FIBA World Championship

Nigeria took part in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. They were drawn in Group A with Argentina, France, Lebanon, Serbia and Montenegro, and Venezuela. They surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated by Germany in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the same record as the defending world champion Serbia and Montenegro.

2012 Summer Olympics

Nigeria competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their lone victory coming against Tunisia in their Olympics debut. ^[6] The team's roster, assembled by coach Ayodele Bakare, primarily comprised former college basketball players. ^[7]

2016 Summer Olympics

Nigeria qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics tournament as champions of AfroBasket 2015. They finished at the bottom of Group B, winning one game against Croatia and losing four games.^{[ citation needed ]} The team entered the 2016 games with several injured players and little financial support from the Nigerian government. ^[8]

2020 Summer Olympics

As the top African team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Nigeria qualified for their third consecutive Olympics berth for the 2020 Summer Olympics. ^[9] The team, which included seven NBA players and was led by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, was called up for training in the United States in June 2021. D'Tigers defeated the United States 90–87 during an exhibition game in Las Vegas on 10 July. The victory, described as an "upset", was the first for an African team against the United States. ^{[10] [11]}

Team honours and achievements

Intercontinental

• FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
  • Bronze: 2013, 2016
• Basketball at the Commonwealth Games
  • Fourth-place: 2006

Continental

• AfroBasket
  • Gold Medal: 2015
  • Silver Medal: 1997, 1999, 2003, 2017
  • Bronze Medal: 1995, 2005, 2011
• All Africa Games
  • Gold Medal: 2011
  • Bronze Medal: 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympics record							Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L		GP	W	L
1964	Did not qualify						AfroBasket served as qualification
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012	Preliminary round	10th	5	1	4
2016	Preliminary round	11th	5	1	4
2020	Preliminary round	10th	3	0	3
2024	Did not qualify						2	0	2
			13	2	11		2	0	2

FIBA World Cup

FIBA World Cup record							Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L		GP	W	L
1967	Did not qualify						AfroBasket served as qualification
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998	Preliminary round	13th	5	2	3
2002	Did not qualify
2006	Round of 16	14th	6	2	4
2010	Did not qualify
2014
2019	Preliminary round	17th	5	3	2		12	10	2
2023	Did not qualify						10	5	5
2027	To be determined						To be determined
		3/15	16	7	9		22	15	7

AfroBasket

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
1965	Did not enter
1968
1970
1972	Classification stage	12th	6	0	6
1974	Did not enter
1975
1978	Classification stage	6th	5	2	3
1980	Preliminary round	11th	5	1	4
1981	Did not enter
1983
1985	Classification stage	7th	6	3	3
1987	Classification stage	8th	4	1	3
1989	Did not enter
1992	Classification stage	5th	6	4	2
1993	Did not enter
1995	Third place		6	4	2
1997	Runners-up		6	5	1
1999	Runners-up		7	5	2
2001	Classification stage	5th	6	5	1
2003	Runners-up		7	5	2
2005	Third place		8	6	2
2007	Quarterfinals	5th	6	5	1
2009	Quarterfinals	5th	9	7	2
2011	Third place		7	6	1
2013	Quarterfinals	7th	7	5	2
2015	Champions		7	6	1
2017	Runners-up		6	4	2
2021	Round of 16	12th	4	2	2
2025	To be determined
Total		19/28	118	76	42

FIBA AfroCan

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
2019	11th place	11th	3	0	3
2023	8th place	8th	6	3	3
Total		2/2	9	3	6

African Games

See also: Basketball at the African Games

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

FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup

See also: FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup

• 2013 –
• 2016 –

Commonwealth Games

See also: Basketball at the Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
2006	Semi-Final	4th	5	2	3
2018	Quarter-Final	6th	4	0	4
Total	2/2	4th	9	2	7

Team

Current roster

Roster for the Afrobasket 2021. ^[12]

Nigeria men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. PG 0 Jordan Ogundiran 24 – (1996-11-30)30 November 1996 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Kamza G 3 Ben Emelogu 26 – (1994-11-24)24 November 1994 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Rouen G 4 Daniel Utomi 24 – (1997-03-07)7 March 1997 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Vichy-Clermont F 5 Emmanuel Omogbo 26 – (1995-05-28)28 May 1995 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) APOEL PG 11 Ikenna Ndugba 23 – (1998-06-11)11 June 1998 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Elon Phoenix G 12 Ibe Agu 24 – (1997-05-02)2 May 1997 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) ABC Fighters PG 13 Jeremiah Mordi 28 – (1993-01-07)7 January 1993 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Caen F 14 Tarekeyi Edogi 27 – (1994-02-21)21 February 1994 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Paulus Pärnu C 15 Victor Koko 28 – (1992-12-14)14 December 1992 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Rivers Hoopers C 18 Celestine Nwafor 27 – (1994-03-16)16 March 1994 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) Kano Pillars BC PG 22 Ikechukwu Benjamin 24 – (1997-06-14)14 June 1997 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Rivers Hoopers PF 31 Stephen Domingo 26 – (1995-05-09)9 May 1995 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Free agent	Head coach Mike Brown Assistant coach(es) Alan Major Luke Loucks Legend Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 24 August 2021

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Precious Achiuwa	Jahlil Okafor	Charles Bassey	Udoka Azubuike
PF	Chimezie Metu	Chima Moneke	KZ Okpala	Suleiman Braimoh
SF	Jordan Nwora	Semi Ojeleye	Miye Oni	Stan Okoye
SG	Gabe Vincent	Josh Okogie	Obi Emegano	Ike Nwamu
PG	Monte Morris	Spencer Dinwiddie	Victor Oladipo

Notable players

Several players of the Nigeria national team have had success playing for professional teams, in the NBA, or in Europe, including:

• Julius Nwosu
• Akin Akingbala
• Peter Aluma
• Aloysius Anagonye
• Tunji Awajobi
• Ike Diogu
• Obinna Ekezie
• Ebi Ere
• Benjamin Eze
• Ekene Ibekwe
• Ike Iroegbu (born 1995)
• Gani Lawal
• Michael Olowokandi
• Olumide Oyedeji
• Ime Udoka
• Jeff Varem
• Al-Farouq Aminu
• Festus Ezeli

Hakeem Olajuwon never played for Nigeria at the international senior level, ^[13] and would eventually play for the United States, after becoming a US citizen in 1993.

Past rosters

2009 African Championship: finished 5th among 16 teams

Akin Akingbala, Aloysius Anagonye, Chamberlain Oguchi, Deji Akindele, Michael Efevberha, Michael Umeh, Josh Akognon, Ebi Ere, Ejike Ugboaja, Gabe Muoneke, Jayson Obazuaye, Benson Egemonye (Coach: John Lucas II)

2011 African Championship: finished 3rd among 16 teams

Solomon Tat, Ime Udoka, Abubakar Usman, Chinedu Onyeuku, Ike Ofoegbu, Michael Umeh, Stanley Gumut, Derrick Obasohan, Ejike Ugboaja, Ezenwa Ukeagu, Jayson Obazuaye, Olumide Oyedeji (Coach: Ayo Bakare)

2012 Summer Olympics: finished 10th among 12 teams

Tony Skinn, Ekene Ibekwe, Ike Diogu, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ade Dagunduro, Chamberlain Oguchi, Koko Archibong, Richard Oruche, Ejike Ugboaja, Derrick Obasohan, Alade Aminu, Olumide Oyedeji (Coach: Ayo Bakare)

2020 Olympic roster:A 15-player roster was announced on 6 July 2021. ^[14] The final squad was released on 20 July 2021. ^[15]

2020 Olympic roster

Nigeria national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. F 0 KZ Okpala 22 – (1999-04-28)28 April 1999 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Miami Heat G 3 Caleb Agada 26 – (1994-08-31)31 August 1994 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Hapoel Be'er Sheva C 8 Ekpe Udoh 34 – (1987-05-20)20 May 1987 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Virtus Bologna PF 10 Chimezie Metu 24 – (1997-03-22)22 March 1997 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Sacramento Kings SG 11 Obi Emegano 28 – (1993-04-29)29 April 1993 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Fuenlabrada G 13 Miye Oni 23 – (1997-08-04)4 August 1997 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Utah Jazz C 15 Jahlil Okafor 25 – (1995-12-15)15 December 1995 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Atlanta Hawks G 20 Josh Okogie 22 – (1998-09-01)1 September 1998 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Minnesota Timberwolves G 22 Gabe Vincent 25 – (1996-06-14)14 June 1996 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Miami Heat F 33 Jordan Nwora 22 – (1998-09-09)9 September 1998 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Milwaukee Bucks G 34 Ike Nwamu 28 – (1993-06-03)3 June 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Samara PF 55 Precious Achiuwa 21 – (1999-09-19)19 September 1999 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Miami Heat	Head coach Mike Brown [16] Assistant coach(es) Jordi Fernández Alexander Nwora Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 25 July 2021

Head coaches

• Vladislav Lučić 1975–1980
• Sam Vincent 2004–2006
• Sani Ahmed 2006
• Robert McCullum 2007
• John Lucas II 2009
• Sani Ahmed 2010, 2013
• Ayo Bakare 2011–2014
• William Voigt 2015–2017 ^[17]
• Alexander Nwora 2017–present ^[18] Associate Headcoach from 2020–present.
• Mike Brown 2020–2022 ^[19]
• Alan Major July 2022–present ^[20]

Kit

Manufacturer

2019–present: Peak

See also

• Basketball portal
• Nigeria portal

• Nigeria national under-19 basketball team
• Nigeria national under-17 basketball team
• Nigeria women's national basketball team

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
2. "Omnisports – Basketball : Le Nigéria toujours " Number One " en Afrique". AfricaFootUnited.com (in French). 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
3. "FIBA rankings". FIBA. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
4. "The need for proper Basketball arena(s) in Nigeria". temidayojnr.medium.com/. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
5. Ayodele (1 March 2017). "Lagos ready to take over Surulere National Stadium – Ambode". Punch. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
6. Young, Sonny (29 July 2012). "Nigeria, Tunisia Tip Off London Olympic Men's Basketball". Voice of America . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
7. Bishop, Greg (6 August 2012). "Bruised and Beaten, but Nigerians Are Unbowed". The New York Times . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
8. Wolff, Alexander (8 August 2016). "Nigeria's men's basketball team left scrambling after financial, player issues". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
9. "Nigeria open Tokyo 2020 camp in California with 49-man list". FIBA. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
10. Abrams, Jonathan (10 July 2021). "Nigeria Wins Historic Upset Over Team U.S.A. in Olympic Exhibition". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
11. Windhorst, Brian (10 July 2021). "Team USA stunned by Nigeria in rare exhibition basketball loss ahead of Tokyo Olympics". ESPN . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
12. "Team Roster Nigeria". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
13. "Forget it, Nigeria. Victor Oladipo is gone!". Basketball. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
14. "Tokyo Olympics: D'Tigers' coach names provisional squad, omits Diogu". premiumtimesng.com. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
15. "Nigeria unveil Tokyo 2020 roster with eight NBA stars". fiba.basketball. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
16. "Team Roster Nigeria" (PDF). olympics.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
17. "NBBF hires Will Voigt to lead D'Tigers to Afrobasket and All African Games; may lead team to Rio 2016 Olympic Games". Basketball. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
18. Ayodele (9 August 2017). "Afrobasket: NBBF appoints Alex Nwora as D'Tigers coach". Punch. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
19. Goldberg, Wes (4 February 2020). "Warriors assistant Mike Brown will coach Nigeria in 2020 Olympics: report". The Mercury News. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
20. Danmallam, Shamsudeen (28 June 2022). "Basketball: Alan Major to coach male national team". 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE. Retrieved 28 June 2022.

External links

• Official website
• FIBA Profile
• Nigeria Basketball Records Archived 8 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine at FIBA Archive
• Afrobasket – Nigeria Men National Team

Videos

• Nigeria – Team Highlights – AfroBasket 2015 Youtube.com video