Nigeria national basketball team
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| FIBA ranking | 25  1 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1964 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Africa | ||
| National federation | Nigeria Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | William Voigt | ||
| Nickname(s) | D'Tigers | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 1 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| FIBA Africa Championship | |||
| Appearances | 17 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: 2015 Silver: 1997, 1999, 2003 Bronze: 1995, 2005, 2011 |
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| All Africa Games | |||
| Appearances | 7 | ||
| Medals | Gold: 2011 Bronze: 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 |
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| Uniforms | |||
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The Nigerian national basketball team represents Nigeria in international competitions. It is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).
It is generally considered to be one of the best national basketball teams in the FIBA Africa zone, along with Angola and Senegal. Nigeria is ranked 24th in the FIBA World Rankings.[1]
Nigeria is the only African nation to ever 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.
As of 2015, Nigeria is Africas reigning basketball champion.
Contents
History
Nigeria's national basketball team joined FIBA in 1964. Recently, the team has enjoyed 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. A team dominated by Nigerian-Americans 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.
Eight players on the team that represented Nigeria at the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket tournament were born in the United States. Nigeria also qualified to the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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 Olympic Games. They finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their victory coming against Tunisia, making the first ever Olympic game the first ever Olympic victory.
Performance table
Summer Olympic Games record
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 10 | 2012 Summer Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom |
| 2016 | TBD | 2016 Summer Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
FIBA World Cup record
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 13 | 1998 FIBA World Championship | Athens, Greece |
| 2006 | 14 | 2006 FIBA World Championship | Japan |
| 2014 | – | 2014 FIBA World Cup | Spain |
FIBA Africa Championship record
Roster
Team for the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship.
| Nigeria men's national basketball team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Festus Ezeli | Ekpe Udoh | Shane Lawal | ||
| PF | Ike Diogu | Gani Lawal | Alade Aminu | ||
| SF | Al-Farouq Aminu | Michael Gbinije | Stan Okoye | ||
| SG | Chamberlain Oguchi | Jamal Olasewere | Kelenna Azubuike | ||
| PG | Ben Uzoh | Michael Umeh |
Head coaches
- Vladislav Lučić – 1981-1983
- Sam Vincent – 2004–2006
- Sanni Ahmed – 2006
- Robert McCullum – 2007
- John Lucas II – 2009
- Sanni Ahmed – 2010
- Ayo Bakare – 2011
- Charlie Krebs - 2014
- William Voigt[2] - 2015 - current
Notable players
Several players of the Nigerian 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
- Gani Lawal
- Michael Olowokandi
- Olumide Oyedeji
- Ime Udoka
- Jeff Varem
- Al-Farouq Aminu
- Richard Oruche
- Ekpe Udoh
- Festus Ezeli
Hakeem Olajuwon never played for the Nigerian team at senior level,[3] 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 Olympic Games: 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)
