FIBA Basketball World Cup facts for kids

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FIBA Basketball World Cup

Sport	Basketball
Founded	1950; 75 years ago (1950)
Inaugural season	1950
No. of teams	32 (finals)
Countries	FIBA members
Continent	FIBA (International)
Most recent champion(s)	Germany (1st title)
Most titles	United States / Yugoslavia (5 titles each)

The FIBA Basketball World Cup is a huge international basketball tournament. It's where the best men's national basketball teams from around the world compete. This exciting event happens every four years. It's organized by the International Basketball Federation, which is the main group for basketball worldwide.

Before 2010, this tournament was called the FIBA World Championship. It's a lot like the FIFA World Cup for soccer. Currently, 32 teams battle it out to win the championship.

There's also a similar tournament for women's teams, called the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. From 1986 to 2014, both the men's and women's tournaments happened in the same year, but in different countries. Now, the men's World Cup is held in a different year than the FIFA World Cup. This helps avoid conflicts and gives basketball its own spotlight.

The team that wins the World Cup gets the Naismith Trophy. This special trophy was first given out in 1967. The current champions are Germany. They won the 2023 tournament by beating Serbia in the final game.

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was a big moment. It was held in Canada. For the first time, active NBA players from the United States were allowed to play. Since then, all FIBA World Cup tournaments have been fully professional.

History of the World Cup
How Teams Qualify
How the Tournament Works
The Naismith Trophy
Tournament Winners and Medals
- Medal Table by Country
Participating Nations
Top Players in World Cup History
- Players with Multiple Gold Medals
- Players with Many Medals
Other Cool Records
Awards for Top Players
How Popular the Tournament Is
See also

History of the World Cup

World map showing how many times a country has hosted the World Cup. Dark blue: twice; light blue: once.

The idea for the FIBA Basketball World Cup came up during the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Renato William Jones, a long-time leader at FIBA, wanted a world championship like the FIFA World Cup. It would happen every four years between the Olympiads (Olympic Games). FIBA agreed because the 1948 Olympic basketball tournament was so popular.

The first tournament was held in 1950. Argentina was the host country because it was the only one ready to organize it. Argentina won all its games and became the first FIBA World Champion!

The first five tournaments were held in South America. Teams from the Americas were very strong at first. But by 1963, teams from Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe, especially the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, started to catch up.

From 1963 to 1990, the tournaments were mostly won by the United States, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Brazil. These four teams won almost all the medals.

The 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto was a new beginning. For the first time, active American NBA players could join. Before this, only European and South American professional players were allowed. Also, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia had split into many new countries. The United States won gold that year. Russia and Croatia, which were new countries from the former USSR and Yugoslavia, won silver and bronze.

The 1998 FIBA World Championship in Greece was different. NBA players couldn't play because of a player lockout. The new Yugoslavian team (made of Serbia and Montenegro) won gold. The USA team, with players from Europe and college, finished third.

In 2002, other countries started to become strong. FR Yugoslavia won the final against Argentina. Dirk Nowitzki led Germany to their first World Championship medal, a bronze. He was also named the tournament's best player (MVP). The United States team, with NBA players, finished sixth. This showed that many countries were now very good at basketball. Because of this, FIBA decided to have 24 teams in the tournament from 2006 to 2014.

In 2006, Spain beat Greece in the final. It was the first time either team had reached the final. Spain became only the seventh country to win a World Championship gold. The USA won bronze.

In 2010, the USA won gold for the first time in 16 years. They beat Turkey in the final. Lithuania won bronze. The United States then won again in 2014, becoming the third country to win back-to-back championships.

After 2014, FIBA made big changes. The tournament expanded to 32 teams. Also, it would no longer happen in the same year as the FIFA World Cup. The 2019 tournament was held in China. The 2023 edition was in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The next one, in 2027, will be in Qatar. This will be the first World Cup held in the Arab world.

Total times teams hosted by confederation
Confederations and years *italicized* & in bold have an upcoming competition.
Confederation	Total	(Hosts) Years
FIBA Africa	0
FIBA Americas	10	1950, 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2002
FIBA Asia	5	1978, 2006, 2019, 2023, 2027
FIBA Europe	5	1970, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2014
FIBA Oceania	0

How Teams Qualify

World map showing how many times a national team has played in the World Cup (as of 2014).

Over the years, the Basketball World Cup has used different ways for teams to qualify. In the early tournaments, many teams were invited to play. This was because not all parts of the world had their own basketball championships yet.

Later, more continental championships were created. For example, Asia added a championship in 1960, Africa in 1962, and Oceania in 1971. This made qualification more organized. Teams could earn a spot by winning or doing well in their continental tournaments. The host country and the defending World Champion also usually got a spot.

From 1970 to 2014, qualification was mostly based on these continental championships and the Olympic tournament. When the tournament expanded to 24 teams in 2006, spots were given out like this:

FIBA EuroBasket (Europe) – 6 spots
FIBA AfroBasket (Africa) – 3 spots
FIBA Asia Cup (Asia) – 3 spots
FIBA AmeriCup (Americas) – 5 spots
FIBA Oceania Championship (Oceania) – 2 spots
Defending Olympic Champion – 1 spot
Host team – 1 spot
FIBA-selected wild cards – 4 extra spots

In 2017, FIBA changed how teams qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics. Now, the continental championships happen every four years and don't directly decide who goes to the World Cup or Olympics.

The 2019 World Cup used a new qualification system. It takes two years, with games played in six different "windows" (periods of time). Teams play home and away games within their groups. Here's how the spots are given out now:

FIBA Europe – 12 spots
FIBA Americas – 7 spots
FIBA Africa – 5 spots
Asia-Pacific (FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania) – 7 spots
Host team – 1 spot (or 2 for 2023)

How the Tournament Works

The Basketball World Cup has changed its format many times. It has had anywhere from 10 to 32 teams. The first tournament in 1950 started with a double-elimination round. Then, the top six teams played in a round-robin group to find the champion.

From 1954 to 1974, tournaments began with a group stage. The best teams from these groups then played in a final round-robin group. In 1978, FIBA added a gold medal game for the top two teams and a bronze medal game for third and fourth place.

In 2019, the tournament expanded to 32 teams. Here's how it generally works now:

Teams are divided into groups for a first round.
The top two teams from each group move on to a second group stage.
In the second group stage, teams play against new opponents. Their results from the first round against teams they already played carry over.
The top two teams from each of these second-round groups then go to the quarterfinals. This starts a single-elimination knockout round.
In the knockout round, if a team loses, they are out of the running for the championship.
The teams that lose in the semifinals play for the bronze medal. Teams that lose in the quarterfinals play in a special bracket to decide places 5th through 8th.

If teams are tied in the preliminary round, there are rules to break the tie. They look at the results between the tied teams first, then goal averages, and sometimes even draw lots.

The Naismith Trophy

Map showing the best finishes for each team. Old countries are marked with circles.

Since 1967, the winning team of each tournament has been given the Naismith Trophy. This trophy is named after James Naismith, who invented basketball.

FIBA wanted a trophy since the first World Championship in 1950. But it wasn't until 1965 that they got enough money to make one. The first trophy was used from 1967 to 1994. A new trophy was introduced in 1998. The original trophy is now in a foundation in Spain.

The second trophy looked like an Egyptian lotus flower. It had maps of the continents carved on it and special stones. Dr. Naismith's name was written on it in four languages. This trophy was about 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) tall and weighed nine kilograms (20 pounds).

The newest Naismith Trophy was shown in 2017. It's about 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) tall and is mostly made of gold. It has the names of past champions at its base. FIBA's original name is also engraved on it. This trophy was designed by Radiant Studios Ltd and made by Thomas Lyte.

Tournament Winners and Medals

This table shows the champions, runner-ups, and third-place teams for each FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Edition	Year	Hosts	Final			Third place game			Number of teams
Edition	Year	Hosts	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place	Number of teams
1	1950	Argentina	Argentina	64–50 No playoffs	United States	Chile	51–40 No playoffs	Brazil	10
2	1954	Brazil	United States	62–41 No playoffs	Brazil	Philippines	66–60 No playoffs	France	12
3	1959	Chile	Brazil	81–67 No playoffs	United States	Chile	86–85 No playoffs	[[Chinese Taipei {{{mw}}} national basketball team\|Formosa]]	13
4	1963	Brazil	Brazil	90–71 No playoffs	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	75–74 No playoffs	United States	13
5	1967	Uruguay	Soviet Union	71–59 No playoffs	Yugoslavia	Brazil	80–71 No playoffs	United States	13
6	1970	Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia	80–55 No playoffs	Brazil	Soviet Union	62–58 No playoffs	Italy	13
7	1974	Puerto Rico	Soviet Union	79–82 No playoffs	Yugoslavia	United States	83–70 No playoffs	Cuba	14
8	1978	Philippines	Yugoslavia	82–81 (OT) Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City	Soviet Union	Brazil	86–85 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City	Italy	14
9	1982	Colombia	Soviet Union	95–94 Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali	United States	Yugoslavia	119–117 Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali	Spain	13
10	1986	Spain	United States	87–85 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	117–91 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid	Brazil	24
11	1990	Argentina	Yugoslavia	92–75 Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires	Soviet Union	United States	107–105 (OT) Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires	Puerto Rico	16
12	1994	Canada	United States	137–91 SkyDome, Toronto	Russia	Croatia	78–60 SkyDome, Toronto	Greece	16
13	1998	Greece	FR Yugoslavia	64–62 Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens	Russia	United States	84–61 Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens	Greece	16
14	2002	United States	FR Yugoslavia	84–77 (OT) Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	Argentina	Germany	117–94 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	New Zealand	16
15	2006	Japan	Spain	70–47 Saitama Super Arena, Saitama	Greece	United States	96–81 Saitama Super Arena, Saitama	Argentina	24
16	2010	Turkey	United States	81–64 Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul	Turkey	Lithuania	99–88 Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul	Serbia	24
17	2014	Spain	United States	129–92 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid	Serbia	France	95–93 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid	Lithuania	24
18	2019	China	Spain	95–75 Wukesong Arena, Beijing	Argentina	France	67–59 Wukesong Arena, Beijing	Australia	32
19	2023	Philippines Japan Indonesia	Germany	83–77 Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay	Serbia	Canada	127–118 (OT) Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay	United States	32
20	2027	Qatar	Future event Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail			Future event Lusail Sports Arena, Lusail			32

(OT): game decided after overtime.

Medal Table by Country

This table shows which countries have won the most medals at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The records for Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia are combined here.

Source: FIBA archive
Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	5	3	4	12
2	Yugoslavia / FR Yugoslavia	5	3	2	10
3	Soviet Union	3	3	2	8
4	Brazil	2	2	2	6
5	Spain	2	0	0	2
6	Argentina	1	2	0	3
7	Germany	1	0	1	2
8	Russia	0	2	0	2
Serbia	0	2	0	2
10	Greece	0	1	0	1
Turkey	0	1	0	1
12	Chile	0	0	2	2
France	0	0	2	2
14	Canada	0	0	1	1
Croatia	0	0	1	1
Lithuania	0	0	1	1
Philippines	0	0	1	1
Totals (17 entries)	19	19	19	57

Participating Nations

A total of 65 national teams have played in the final tournament at least once.

Top Players in World Cup History

Here are some of the most successful players in the World Cup. Bold names mean they are still active players.

Players with Multiple Gold Medals

This table shows players who have won at least two gold medals at the World Cups.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Krešimir Ćosić	Yugoslavia	1967	1978	2	2	–	4
1	Wlamir Marques	Brazil	1954	1970	2	2	–	4
3	Amaury Pasos	Brazil	1954	1967	2	1	1	4
3	Sergei Belov	Soviet Union	1967	1978	2	1	1	4
5	Carmo de Souza	Brazil	1959	1970	2	1	–	3
6	Vlade Divac	Yugoslavia Yugoslavia	1986	2002	2	–	1	3
	Jatyr Schall	Brazil	1959	1967	2	–	1	3
	Modestas Paulauskas	Soviet Union	1967	1974	2	–	1	3
	Priit Tomson	Soviet Union	1967	1974	2	–	1	3
10	Dejan Bodiroga	Yugoslavia	1998	2002	2	–	–	2
	Stephen Curry	United States	2010	2014	2	–	–	2
	Predrag Drobnjak	Yugoslavia	1998	2002	2	–	–	2
	Rudy Fernández	Spain	2006	2019	2	–	–	2
	Marc Gasol	Spain	2006	2019	2	–	–	2
	Rudy Gay	United States	2010	2014	2	–	–	2
	Derrick Rose	United States	2010	2014	2	–	–	2
	Dejan Tomašević	Yugoslavia	1998	2002	2	–	–	2
	Waldemar Blatskauskas	Brazil	1959	1963	2	–	–	2

Players with Many Medals

This table shows players who have won at least four medals in total at the World Cups.

Rank	Player	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Krešimir Ćosić	Yugoslavia	1967	1978	2	2	–	4
1	Wlamir Marques	Brazil	1954	1970	2	2	–	4
3	Amaury Pasos	Brazil	1954	1967	2	1	1	4
3	Sergei Belov	Soviet Union	1967	1978	2	1	1	4
5	Alexander Belostenny	Soviet Union	1978	1990	1	3	–	4
6	Ubiratan "Bira" Pereira Maciel	Brazil	1963	1978	1	1	2	4
6	Dražen Dalipagić	Yugoslavia	1974	1986	1	1	2	4

Other Cool Records

Thirteen players have played in five World Cup tournaments. These include players from Brazil, Australia, Puerto Rico, Angola, Argentina, and Spain.

Brazilian legend Oscar Schmidt is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. He scored 906 points in four tournaments between 1978 and 1990. Nikos Galis from Greece holds the record for the most points per game in a single tournament. He averaged 33.7 points per game in 1986.

Serbian coach and former player Željko Obradović is the only person to win the title as both a player and a coach. He won as a player with Yugoslavia in 1990. Then, he coached the Yugoslavia team to victory in 1998.

Awards for Top Players

FIBA chooses a Most Valuable Player for each tournament. Since 1994, when NBA players first joined, NBA players have won most of these MVP awards.

Some famous NBA players who won MVP include Shaquille O'Neal (USA, 1994), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany, 2002), Pau Gasol (Spain, 2006), Kevin Durant (USA, 2010), Kyrie Irving (USA, 2014), Ricky Rubio (Spain, 2019), and Dennis Schröder (Germany, 2023).

The only exception was Dejan Bodiroga from FR Yugoslavia. He was the MVP in 1998 when NBA players couldn't play due to a lockout.

How Popular the Tournament Is

The FIBA Basketball World Cup has become more and more popular over the years.

2006 Tournament

In 2006, about 800 million people watched the championship on TV.

2010 Tournament

The 2010 FIBA World Championship was watched by almost 1 billion people in nearly 200 countries! This broke all previous records. For example, 65 million people in China watched their national team play against Greece. Even games shown early in the morning in Europe or late at night in the Americas had huge audiences.

FIBA also sold 350,000 tickets for the 2010 tournament. This was 10% more tickets than in 2006.

2014 Tournament

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain also had amazing TV ratings. Many games with European teams had over 20% of viewers watching. In the Philippines, the whole tournament was watched by 67.8% of people.

2019 Tournament

In 2019, the TV audience for the tournament reached 3 billion viewers! There were also 1.5 billion views on social media. About 160 million people watched Spain beat Argentina in the final game. In Spain, over 10 million people tuned in, making it the most watched basketball game ever in that country. The average TV audience grew by more than 80% compared to 2014. More people also attended the games in person, with a total of 794,951 attendees.

2023 Tournament

The total number of people who attended the 2023 tournament was 700,665. A record-breaking crowd of 38,115 people watched the game between the host Philippines and the Dominican Republic at the Philippine Arena. In Germany, 5.9 million viewers watched their team win the final against Serbia.