Organized by | Fédération Internationale de Basketball [FIBA] |
First champions | Argentina [Argentina 1950] |
Current champions | Spain [China 2019] |
Most successful team[s] | United States [Brazil 1954, Spain 1986, Canada 1994, Turkey 2010 and Spain 2014] |
The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation [FIBA], the sport's global governing body. It is considered the flagship event of FIBA.
The tournament structure is similar, but not identical, to that of the FIFA World Cup; both of these international competitions were played in the same year from 1970 through 2014. A parallel event for women's teams, now known as the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, is also held quadrennially. From 1986 through 2014, the men's and women's championships were held in the same year, though in different countries. The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation. The winning team receives the Naismith Trophy, first awarded in 1967. The current champions are Spain, who defeated Argentina in the final of the 2019 tournament.
Following the 2014 FIBA championships for men and women, the men's World Cup was scheduled on a new four-year cycle to avoid conflict with the FIFA World Cup. The men's World Cup was held in 2019, in the year following the FIFA World Cup. The women's championship, which was renamed from "FIBA World Championship for Women" to "FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup", after its 2014 edition, will remain on the previous four-year cycle, with championships in the same year as the FIFA World Cup.
The 1994 FIBA World Championship, which was held in Canada, was the first FIBA World Cup tournament in which currently active US NBA players, that had also already played in an official NBA regular season game, were allowed to participate. All FIBA World Championship/World Cup tournaments since then, are thus considered as fully professional level tournaments.
Results[]
| 1950 | Argentina | Argentina | 64–50 No playoffs | United States | No final was played; teams played each other once in the final group round-robin; the team with the best record wins the championship. |
| 1954 | Brazil | United States | 62–41 No playoffs | Brazil | |
| 1959 | Chile | Brazil | 81–67 No playoffs | United States | |
| 1963 | Brazil | Brazil | 90–71 No playoffs | Yugoslavia | |
| 1967 | Uruguay | Soviet Union | 71–59 No playoffs | Yugoslavia | |
| 1970 | Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 80–55 No playoffs | Brazil | |
| 1974 | Puerto Rico | Soviet Union | 79–82 No playoffs | Yugoslavia | |
| 1978 | Philippines | Yugoslavia | 82–81 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City | Soviet Union | Finals game won by Yugoslavia during overtime. |
| 1982 | Colombia | Soviet Union | 95–94 Coliseo El Pueblo, Cali | United States | |
| 1986 | Spain | United States | 87–85 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid | Soviet Union | |
| 1990 | Argentina | Yugoslavia | 92–75 Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires | Soviet Union | |
| 1994 | Canada | United States | 137–91 SkyDome, Toronto | Russia | |
| 1998 | Greece | FR Yugoslavia | 64–62 Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens | Russia | |
| 2002 | United States | FR Yugoslavia | 84–77 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis | Argentina | Finals game was won by FR Yugoslavia during overtime. |
| 2006 | Japan | Spain | 70–47 Saitama Super Arena, Saitama | Greece | |
| 2010 | Turkey | United States | 81–64 Sinan Erdem Dome, Istanbul | Turkey | |
| 2014 | Spain | United States | 129–92 Palacio de Deportes, Madrid | Serbia | |
| 2019 | China | Spain | 95–75 Wukesong Arena, Beijing | Argentina | |
| 2023 | Philippines Japan Indonesia | TBA | TBA Philippine Arena, Bocaue | TBA |
Broadcasters[]
as of 2023
| Australia | ESPN |
| Baltic states | TV3 |
| Canada | Sportsnet |
| China | CCTV |
| Czech Republic | ČT, Saran Media |
| Finland | Nelonen Media |
| France | France Télévisions, beIN Sports |
| Germany | Magenta Sport |
| Italy | Eleven Sports |
| Japan | TV Asahi, Nippon TV |
| Latin America | Torneos y Competencias |
| Middle East and North Africa | beIN Sports |
| New Zealand | Spark Sport |
| Poland | TVP |
| Slovakia | Saran Media |
| Spain | RTVE |
| Sweden | SVT |
| Turkey | Saran Media |