Appearances 11 Medals Gold: (2006) Joined FIBA 1934 | Nickname(s) La ÑBA, la Roja Appearances 11 | |
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Medals Silver: (1984, 2008, 2012) Bronze: (2016) National federation | ||
The Spanish national basketball team is the basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation. (Spanish: Federación Española de Baloncesto)
Contents
- Olympic Games
- FIBA World Cup
- FIBA EuroBasket
- Media controversy prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
- Other Events
- Medal record
- Current roster
- Individual records
- Players
- Coaches
- References
Their last major title was in 2015, when they won the European championship. They are second in the FIBA World Rankings for men, only behind the United States.
Olympic Games
When Spain qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics, where basketball was part of the games for the first time, expectations were high for the runner-up of the 1935 EuroBasket. Unfortunately, as one of the favorites to win medals, Spain but could not attend the Games because of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War just days before the start of the Games.
Before the Spanish national team won the gold medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship (see below), their greatest international success was reaching the final in the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament which took place in Los Angeles. The other finalist was the USA national team (led by Patrick Ewing and featuring a young Michael Jordan), which won the final and with it the gold medal. Spain, thus, took the Olympic silver medal.
Continuing the success started at the 2006 FIBA championship, Spain again reached the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This proved to be a rematch of the 1984 Olympic final; this time, the USA team was led by Kobe Bryant and nicknamed the "Redeem Team". The Americans won after a remarkably close game 116 to 105. Four years later, in London, USA faced Spain again with a result of 107–100 for the Americans, for the Spanish team to take its third Olympic (and second straight) silver medal.
FIBA World Cup
In the early years of the FIBA World Cup, Spain struggled to establish a steady presence as a competitor. Between 1950 and 1970, the team only qualified once. Then, beginning in 1974 Spain developed into a serious competitor and regularly finished among the tournaments top performers for years to come.
At the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the Spanish team finally achieved the ultimate victory, the greatest success in its history. The date was 3 September 2006, as Spain won the gold medal game against the Greek national team. Held in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, the game ended with a final score of 70–47. Pau Gasol was named the tournament MVP, and Jorge Garbajosa also made the All-Tournament team. Shortly afterwards, the team were awarded with the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award in Sports.
FIBA EuroBasket
The first game in the history of the selection was a qualifier for the 1935 EuroBasket, where Spain defeated the team of Portugal by 33–12. This event, which was held in Geneva in the summer of 1935 was the first EuroBasket game in history. Spain finished 2nd and qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin where basketball was introduced for the first time.
After several tries, Spain won its first continental championship in 2009, repeating its success in 2011 and 2015.
Media controversy prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
In August 2008, prior to their competing in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the Spanish national men's basketball team were photographed pulling the sides of their eyes in a slit-eyed gesture, which media reports worldwide described as a 'racist' and 'insensitive' image. The image was requested for an advertising campaign for a courier company and was published in a Spanish national daily sports newspaper.
Other Events
Besides success at the "Big Three" events (Summer Olympic Games, FIBA World Cup, and EuroBasket) Spain has also shown success at the Mediterranean Games, where its selection won three gold medals, four silver and one bronze.
Medal record
The Spanish national team's medal record through the years:
Current roster
The following is the Spain roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.