Brazil national basketball team

First steps

Basketball was initially introduced to Brazil by Professor Augusto Shaw in 1896. In 1912, he began organizing the first state tournament and in 1922 the first national team made its debut at games against Argentina and Uruguay. As in the case of football, South America was initially ahead of the rest of the world and in 1930 held the first edition of the South American Championship. In that decade, Brazilian basketball was supported by professional football clubs, to include it as a new sports section, although amateur in nature. Later, these clubs became professional and supported the national team with world-class players.

Initial success despite budget constraints

In the following years, Brazil became a regular at major international competitions. Its basketball squad participated in the first official basketball tournament at the Summer Olympics 1936 in Berlin. In 1939, the first continental championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. In the 40s, basketball was catching on more layers of society and left the elitist stigma. The sport received the ultimate accolade at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. There, against all odds, the team directed by Moacyr Daiuto (1915-1994) managed to achieve the bronze medal. The team recorded six straight wins until it stopped due to the semi-final defeat to France (33-43). In the bronze medal match, Brazil beat Mexico (52-47). They managed to feature ten amateur players. The pre-Olympic Brazil concentration was very poor in resources. After its time-consuming journey to London, the team was astonishment when they saw how the U.S. team practiced: each player with a ball. Brazil only had two for the whole team.

The era Kanela

One of the fundamental pillars of Brazilian basketball was the boldness of its coaches. The "father" of them all is Togo Renan Soares, "Kanela" (so nicknamed for his thick white hair). Working in the shadow of the giant football, Kanela (1906-1992) understood that basketball would add more followers if it could only offer new emotions. He aimed to get the influential media involved, so the game was conceived as a spectacle based on its dynamism and aesthetics. The formula worked. Besides the national team, he coached Flamengo which chained ten titles in a row (1951-1960). Born in Joao Pessoa (Paraíba) he had also coached football, rowing and water polo. In his youth, he had studied at a military college. His lengthy workouts alternated with authoritative teaching tone.

Rise to a global dominance

The unstoppable rise of basketball was confirmed at the second World Championship in Rio (1954). The Brazilian team, coached by Kanela, reached the final undefeated and proclaimed runner-up after losing to the global hegemonic basketball power from the U.S. That Brazilian team was equipped with experienced players who won the bronze medal London 1948 and supported through the arrival of two young men. These young men were Amaury Pasos and Wlamir Marques, 18 and 17 years old, respectively. The bet of the visionary Kanela would give tremendous returns in later years.

Ironically, the Brazilian player leap happened when the team was made up of willing and enthusiastic amateurs. These athletes, who were initiated into the game almost self-taught by imitation of American basketball players who had toured the country. The hard work of Kanela consisted of giving these players basic fundamentals and then lecture them on team concepts. Amaury and Wlamir were his most successful students. Especially their jump shots dazzled at the 54 FIBA World Cup. "Their scoring was smart and technically perfect." said the Brazilian journalist Fábio Balassiano.

Before playing basketball, Amaury (who measured 1.91m) had practiced swimming, athletics and volleyball, which provided him with much athletic ability. He began his career at Center but later learned to play away from the basket. His partner Wlamir was another former track runner. Standing 1.85 m, Wlamir was a great shooter, had great ball handling skills and an enormous agility and jumping ability, which also helped him to become an excellent rebounder. Amaury and Wlamir fit well into Kanela's system: fast pace, quick transition, and full confidence in the outside shooters.

After three months of intense preparation in a Marine base, Brazil was presented at the 1959 FIBA World Championship in Chile as a candidate for the podium. In addition to the U.S. (with a team composed of air force players), a very tough opponent emerged that had been absent in the previous tournament: the Soviet Union, European champions and Olympic silver medalist. Kanela had the following starting lineup: Amaury Pasos as playmaker, Wlamir Marques and the veteran 33-year old veteran Algodão as forwards; and Centers Edson Bispo and Waldemar Blatskauskas. For his 7-player rotation, Kanela played mostly his bench players forward Jatyr Schall and guard Pecente Fonseca. There were some minutes also for the young forward Carmo de Souza, and Rosa Branca, a juggler ball, who later received an offer to join the Harlem Globetrotters.

Throughout its history, the team has won two World Championships (1959 and 1963), three bronze Olympic medals (in 1948, 1960 and 1964), four Americas Championships (1984, 1988, 2005 and 2009) and five Pan American Games (1971, 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007).

Later years

As in 2012, Brazil's top players included Anderson Varejão, Tiago Splitter, Leandro Barbosa, Nenê, Marcelinho Huertas, Alex Garcia, Guilherme Giovannoni and Marquinhos Vieira.

Current roster

The following is the Brazil roster for the men's basketball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

On 27 July, Anderson Varejão left the squad due to injury and was replaced by Cristiano Felício.

Past rosters

Head coaches

Manufacturer

2015, 2016: Nike

Sponsor

2015: Bradesco