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 features the best men's national teams from around the world. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) organizes this exciting event. It happens every four years and is FIBA's most important competition.

From 1950 until 2010, the tournament was known as the FIBA World Championship. The way the tournament works is similar to the FIFA World Cup in soccer. Currently, 32 teams compete for the championship in different cities within the host country.

There is also a similar tournament for women's teams. It is called the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Both men's and women's championships used to happen in the same year. However, after 2014, the men's World Cup moved to a new four-year cycle. This change helps it avoid clashing with the FIFA World Cup.

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

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was held in Canada. This was the first time that 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
Tournament Rules
Naismith Trophy
Tournament Summary
- Medal Table of Champions
Most Successful Players
- Players with Multiple Gold Medals
- Players with Multiple Medals
Other Records and Statistics
Awards and MVPs
Tournament Growth and Popularity
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 in 1948. This was during the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Renato William Jones, a long-time FIBA leader, wanted a World Championship like the FIFA World Cup. He suggested it happen every four years between the Olympic Games.

FIBA agreed to the idea after seeing how successful the 1948 Olympic basketball tournament was. The first tournament took place in 1950. Argentina was chosen as the host because it was the only country ready to do 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 region were very strong early on. They won eight out of nine medals in the first three tournaments. But by 1963, teams from Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe started to catch up. The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were especially strong.

Between 1963 and 1990, the tournament was mostly won by four teams. These were the United States, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Brazil. Together, they won every medal during that time.

The 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto started a new era. For the first time, active American NBA players could join the tournament. 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. Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia states, Russia and Croatia, won silver and bronze.

The 1998 FIBA World Championship in Greece was different. A lockout in the NBA meant NBA players could not participate. The new Yugoslavian team, made of players from Serbia and Montenegro, won gold. Russia took silver, and the USA finished third.

By 2002, other countries became very competitive. FR Yugoslavia won the final against Argentina. Dirk Nowitzki led Germany to their first World Championship medal, a bronze. The United States team, with NBA players, finished sixth. This showed that more teams could win. FIBA then expanded the tournament to 24 teams for 2006, 2010, and 2014.

In 2006, Spain won their first gold medal. They beat Greece in the final. Spain became only the seventh team to win a World Championship gold. The USA won bronze against Argentina.

In 2010, the USA won gold for the first time in 16 years. They defeated Turkey in the final. Lithuania won bronze. In 2014, the United States won again, becoming the third country to defend its title. They beat Serbia in the final. France won the bronze medal.

After 2014, FIBA made big changes to the World Cup. The tournament expanded from 24 to 32 teams. Also, it would no longer happen in the same year as the FIFA World Cup. The 2019 edition was held in China. The 2023 edition was hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The 2027 tournament will be in Qatar, which is the first time it will be 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.

The Basketball World Cup has changed its qualification rules over the years. In the early tournaments, many teams were invited to play. For example, in the first tournament, FIBA wanted the Olympic medalists and teams from different continents to compete.

As more continental championships were created, qualification became more organized. By 1967, champions from Asia, Europe, and South America automatically got a spot. Later, champions from Africa and Oceania also received berths. The host team, the defending World Champion, and top Olympic teams also usually qualified.

From 1970 to 2014, qualification was based on 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 spots

In 2017, FIBA made big changes to how teams qualify. Continental championships no longer determine who goes to the World Cup or Olympics. Now, qualifying happens over a two-year period. Teams play games in six different "windows" or time slots.

The qualifying zones are similar to FIBA's continental zones. However, FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania are now combined into one Asia-Pacific zone. Teams are divided into Division A and Division B, with teams moving up or down between them. Teams play home and away games within their groups.

Here's how the 32 spots are given out for the World Cup:

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

Tournament Rules

The Basketball World Cup has used different formats over the years. The number of teams has also changed, from 10 to 32. The first tournament in 1950 started with a double-elimination round. Then, the top six teams played in a round-robin group to decide the champion.

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

In 1986, the tournament briefly expanded to 24 teams. Teams played in four groups. The top teams moved on to a second group stage, followed by a knockout tournament. The championship then went back to 16 teams for the 1990 tournament.

From 1990 to 1998, there were two group stages. Then, a four-team knockout tournament decided the medal winners. The 2002 tournament expanded the knockout round to eight teams.

In 2006, FIBA decided to go back to 24 teams. The format used until 2014 involved four groups of six teams. The top four teams from each group then advanced to a single-elimination knockout round.

For the 2019 tournament, the final competition expanded to 32 teams. If teams have the same record at the end of the first round, ties are broken by:

Game results between the tied teams.
Point difference in games between the tied teams.
Point difference in all games of the tied teams.
Drawing of lots (if still tied).

The top two teams from each first-round group move to a second group stage. The results from their first-round game carry over. The top two teams from these second-round groups then go to the quarterfinals. This starts the final single-elimination round. The teams that lose in the semifinals play for the bronze medal. Teams that lose in the quarterfinals play to decide places fifth through eighth.

Naismith Trophy

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

Since 1967, the winning team of each tournament has received the Naismith Trophy. It is named after James Naismith, who invented basketball. A trophy was planned since the first World Championship in 1950. However, it was not made until FIBA received a donation in 1965.

The first trophy was used from 1967 to 1994. It is now kept at the Pedro Ferrándiz Foundation in Spain. A new trophy was introduced for the 1998 tournament. The newest version of the trophy was made in 2017 by British silversmith Thomas Lyte. This trophy was used for the 2019 tournament in China.

The second trophy had an Egyptian-inspired lotus shape. It featured carved maps of the continents and precious stones. These stones symbolized the five continents. Dr. Naismith's name was engraved on all four sides in different languages. This trophy was 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) tall and weighed nine kilograms (twenty pounds).

The most recent Naismith Trophy design was shown in 2017. This trophy is about 60 centimeters tall. It is made almost entirely of gold. The names of past World Cup champions are engraved at its base. FIBA's original name (Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur) is also engraved. The company Radiant Studios Ltd designed the trophy. Thomas Lyte handcrafted it.

Tournament Summary

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 of Champions

In the most recent medal table from FIBA, the results of SFR Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia are combined. They are listed together under "Yugoslavia."

Source: FIBA official website
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

Most Successful Players

Bold names mean the players are still active. They also show the highest medal count among all players.

Players with Multiple Gold Medals

This table lists 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 Multiple 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 Records and Statistics

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

Brazilian legend Oscar Schmidt is the all-time leading scorer. He scored 906 points in four tournaments between 1978 and 1990. Nikos Galis from Greece holds the record for 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 unique. He is the only person to win the title as both a player and a coach. He played for Yugoslavia when they won in 1990. He then coached Yugoslavia to victory in 1998.

Awards and MVPs

FIBA names a Most Valuable Player for each tournament. Since NBA players started playing in 1994, NBA players have won most of these awards.

Notable MVP winners include:

Shaquille O'Neal (USA) in 1994
Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) in 2002
Pau Gasol (Spain) in 2006
Kevin Durant (USA) in 2010
Kyrie Irving (USA) in 2014
Ricky Rubio (Spain) in 2019
Dennis Schröder (Germany) in 2023

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

Tournament Growth and Popularity

The FIBA Basketball World Cup has become very popular around the world.

2006 Tournament Popularity

The 2006 championship had a total TV audience of 800 million viewers.

2010 Tournament Popularity

The 2010 FIBA World Championship reached almost 1 billion TV viewers. It was shown in nearly 200 countries. These numbers broke previous records. In China, 65 million people watched their national team play Greece. This was a big improvement from 2006.

FIBA sold 350,000 tickets for the 2010 tournament. This brought in about US$8 to 10 million. The number of tickets sold was 10% higher than in 2006. FIBA also made US$25 million from TV rights deals.

2014 Tournament Popularity

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain also had great TV ratings. Many games with European teams had a market share of at least 20%. In Finland, 40% of viewers watched their team play the Dominican Republic. In the Philippines, the whole tournament reached an average of 67.8% of viewers.

2019 Tournament Popularity

The 2019 tournament reached 3 billion TV viewers. It also had 1.5 billion views on social media. About 160 million people watched Spain beat Argentina in the final. In Spain, over 10 million people watched the final. This made it the most-watched basketball game ever in that country. The average TV audience for the tournament grew by over 80% from 2014. More people also attended the games, with a total of 794,951 attendees.

2023 Tournament Popularity

The 2023 tournament had a total attendance of 700,665 people. A record-breaking crowd of 38,115 watched the game between the co-hosts Philippines and the Dominican Republic. This game was held at the Philippine Arena. In Germany, 5.9 million viewers watched the final between Germany and Serbia.