Spanish national basketball team

This article looks at the Spanish men's national basketball team. The article on the women's team can be found under Spanish women's basketball team .

Spain España
Nickname (s)	La Selección, ÑBA
Association	Federación Española de Baloncesto (FEB)
FIBA member since	1935
FIBA world rankings	2.
Technical sponsor	Nike
Trainer	Sergio Scariolo
Record player	Juan Carlos Navarro (253)
World championships
Participation in the finals	12 (first: 1950 )
Best results	World Champion ( 2006 , 2019 )
Olympic games
Participation in the finals	12 (first: 1960 )
Best results	Silver medal ( 1984 , 2008 , 2012 )
Continental championships
championship	European basketball championship
Participation in the finals	31 (first: 1935 )
Best results	European Champion ( 2009 , 2011 , 2015 )
Homepage	www.seleccionbaloncesto.es
(As of September 15, 2019)

The Spanish national basketball team represents Spain in international or friendly matches. Her greatest successes to date have been the victories at the 2006 and 2019 World Championships , the silver medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles , 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London, and the titles at the European Championships in 2009 , 2011 and 2015 .

story

1935–1955: early years

The first Spanish national team was created in 1935 with the aim of participating in the 1935 European Basketball Championship . The first game, which also served as a qualification for the continental competition, won the selection on April 15, 1935 in Madrid against Portugal with 33:12. At the European Championships in Geneva itself, the Spaniards managed to get into the final right away, with victories against Belgium (25:17) and Czechoslovakia (21:17), where they failed to Latvia with 18:24 .

The silver medal was to be the only success for the Iberians for a long time. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the difficult post-war years threw back the sport and so did the Spanish national basketball team. Spain was invited to the first basketball world championship in 1950 , but only finished the tournament in 9th and penultimate place. There was a scandal in the placement game against Yugoslavia when they refused to play in protest against the dictatorship of Francisco Franco . The game was rated 2-0 for the Iberians and Yugoslavia was banned by FIBA for nine months. The Spaniards did not take part in the European Championships at that time, but successes were achieved at the Mediterranean Games , so in 1951 they lost to hosts Egypt in the final in Alexandria with 39:41 and four years later the team won in Barcelona with a 58:57 in Gold medal final against Greece .

1956–1980: The first stars

In the late 1950s, basketball began to grow in popularity in Spain. With the national players Emiliano Rodríguez and Francesc “Nino” Buscató , the country had at that time two well-known and valued stars beyond the national borders. The team took part in the continental tournament in 1959 for the first time since 1935 and has not missed a final round to this day. The national basketball team competed for the first time at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 . However, the results were still modest. Seventh places at the 1963 European Championship , in which Emiliano Rodríguez was named the best player of the tournament, and the 1971 European Championship , as well as a fifth place at the 1969 European Championship, were the best results at the continental tournament. Another seventh place was achieved at the 1968 Olympic Games .

Spain made a qualitative leap in the late 1960s with two native Americans , Real Madrid stars Clifford Luyk and Wayne Brabender, who married Spanish women during their time in the Spanish league and thus received citizenship. With them, and under the leadership of long-time national coach Antonio Díaz-Miguel (1965 to 1992 in office), the Iberians rose to one of the strongest national teams on the continent and reached the final at the EM 1973 for the first time since 1935, which with 67: 78 was lost to Yugoslavia. Brabender was voted the best player of the tournament. Just one year later, the Spaniards competed in the 1974 World Cup , their second participation in the finals since 1950. The Iberians, led by Real Madrid stars Brabender, Luyk and the young point guard Corbalán , played a strong tournament and reached the fifth place.

1981–1984: Olympic final in Los Angeles

The 1980s were marked by a new generation of Spanish players, led by stars such as Fernando Martín , Juan Antonio San Epifanio called "Epi", Fernando Romay , Andrés Jiménez , Iturriaga or Juan Antonio Corbalán, achieved numerous successes. Already at the 1982 World Cup , the team achieved fourth place, the best place at world championships up to that point. A 109-99 victory for the Spaniards against the USA- led team led by Doc Rivers caused a stir at the time . Only a year later, the Iberians reached a European Championship final for the third time , but failed again, this time with 96: 105 to Italy .

However, the climax of every generation of players would follow at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . After defeating the favored Yugoslavia in the semifinals , with stars like Dražen Petrović or Dražen Dalipagić in their ranks, 74:61, in the final they faced the then almost unbeatable home team of the USA, with players like Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan , Chris Mullin , Alvin Robertson or Sam Perkins . The hosts won the final 96:65, but the Spanish silver medal at such an important tournament sparked a basketball euphoria in the country.

1985–1999: losing streak and shame at Barcelona

This success was followed by a dry spell, although Spain was always represented in the finals and mostly finished in the front, but they only made it onto the podium at the European Championships in 1991 and took bronze. One of the biggest disappointments of those days was the team's appearance at the 1992 Olympics in their own country. Despite the home advantage, the team was eliminated from the group bottom in the preliminary round, only able to record a narrow win against Brazil and lose all other encounters. What is particularly memorable is an embarrassing 63:83 in the penultimate group game against the clear outsider Angola . Ultimately, they only reached ninth place and national coach Antonio Díaz-Miguel announced his resignation after 27 years in office. Under the new team boss Lolo Sainz , the fourth finals at the 1999 European Championships followed , as they were defeated by Italy 16 years earlier.

2000–2017: Golden generation

Spanish world champions team 2006

The most successful era of Spanish basketball to date was to begin at the turn of the millennium. The so-called Chicos de Oro (in German: Golden Boys ), a generation that won the U-18 European Championship and the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Tournament in 1998, and also the U-19s in 1999, with a 94:87 final against the USA -World Cup, gradually began to advance to the senior national team. Players from that year like Pau Gasol , Juan Carlos Navarro , José Calderón , Felipe Reyes , Raül López , Carlos Cabezas and Berni Rodríguez should be mentioned . Together with more established players like Jorge Garbajosa , Carlos Jiménez or Álex Mumbrú and later succeeding younger basketball players like Rudy Fernández , Sergio Rodríguez Gómez , Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio , they should achieve numerous successes with the national team. Already at the European Championships in 2001 and 2003 , the Iberians landed on the podium with bronze and silver respectively.

At the basketball world championship in 2006 the breakthrough finally followed and after victories against Serbia and Montenegro , Lithuania and Argentina in the eighth, quarter and semi-finals, they met in the final against Greece , which had previously eliminated the USA . The Spaniards prevailed, especially with a very strong defensive performance, against the Hellenes with 70:47 and won the world title for the first time. Man of the tournament was NBA star Pau Gasol, who missed the final due to an injury, but was named MVP .

Only one year after this success, Spain and all its stars were the big favorites in the finals at the 2007 European Championship in their own country. This time, however, they drew the short straw against the Russian team led by Andrei Kirilenko with 59:60. The tragic hero was just superstar Pau Gasol, who missed a throw seconds before the end that could have put Spain in the lead.

Another great success was to follow at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing . After victories against Croatia and Lithuania in the quarter and semi-finals, the team reached the final against the USA as in 1984. The American team was peppered with NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant , LeBron James , Carmelo Anthony , Dwyane Wade , Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd , but the Spaniards met them in a high-class final at eye level and finally lost after a tough battle with 107: 118 .

The following year the European Championship in Poland was on the program. After initial difficulties, the Spaniards got better and better over the course of the tournament. With victories over France and Greece in the quarter and semi-finals, the Iberians reached the final, where the young Serbian team was defeated 85:63. This was the first victory in a European Championship final at the seventh attempt. Pau Gasol was voted best player of the tournament.

The 2010 World Cup in Turkey was a setback for the Spaniards . With Pau Gasol, who canceled due to the long NBA season, and José Calderón, who was injured, the team had to do without two of its supports. Although they survived the round of 16 with an 80:72 against Greece, a three-point goal by Miloš Teodosić seconds before the end sealed an 89:92 quarter-final defeat against Serbia.

Spanish players celebrate the 2011 European Championship

In the run-up to the European Championships in 2011 , two regular players from previous years, Jorge Garbajosa and Álex Mumbrú, announced their retirement from the national team, but all the Spanish NBA stars, at that time the brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernández, José Calderón and Ricky Rubio, declared and Serge Ibaka , their willingness to participate in the tournament. From the famous Golden Generation , alongside Pau Gasol and José Calderón, Juan Carlos Navarro and Felipe Reyes were also part of the squad. The Spaniards, who went into the tournament as defending champions, were able to live up to their role as favorites from the start. With the exception of one defeat in the last preliminary round against Turkey , all games in the preliminary and intermediate rounds were won. In the playoffs, the Spaniards prevailed against Slovenia in the quarterfinals and against the surprise team from Macedonia in the semifinals . In the final they faced fellow favorites France, with stars like Tony Parker , Joakim Noah , Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum in their ranks. However, the Iberians were able to prevail with a high-class game with 98:85 and thus conquered the second continental title in a row. Spain's captain Juan Carlos Navarro was also voted MVP of the tournament.

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London , the national team had to compete without the injured Ricky Rubio . Despite two defeats in the preliminary round against Russia and Brazil, Spain again played a strong tournament. In the quarterfinals they defeated France with 66:59 and in the semifinals the Iberians retaliated against Russia with a 67:59 success. In the final they met the USA team for the third time. Again, the Spaniards designed the game against the NBA stars around Kevin Durant , Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love , Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony completely open, were only one point behind the favored Americans until the last quarter and finally lost with 100: 107 .

After a bronze medal at the EM in 2013 , another highlight of that generation of players followed at the continental tournament in 2015 . The Iberians struggled in the preliminary round and only qualified for the round of 16 with just under 77:76 in the last group game against Germany, but improved in the play-offs and won the tournament with an 80:63 in the final against Lithuania. Pau Gasol was elected MVP of the tournament and Sergio Rodríguez was elected to the All-Tournament Team.

Two more bronze medals followed at the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2017 European Championships . The Spanish national team with the participation of the Golden Generation won a total of twelve medals at major events. Including gold at the 2006 World Championships and the 2009, 2011 and 2015 European Championships and silver at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

Present: since 2017

The qualification for the World Basketball Championship in 2019 turned out to be due to the overlap of the terminated by FIBA National windows with match days of the Euro League difficult. The Spanish national team therefore mostly had to forego not only their NBA stars, but also the players from their top domestic clubs and the legionnaires in other top European teams. A total of 29 players, including many little-known names, took part in the qualification process. At the finals, coach Scariolo had to do without the injured superstar Pau Gasol , the last member still active in the national team of the golden generation that has always been represented in the final squad of the Iberians since the 2000 Olympic Games . With Sergio Rodríguez , Serge Ibaka and Nikola Mirotić , other important players canceled their participation in the tournament. Although four NBA players with Ricky Rubio , Marc Gasol and the brothers Willy and Juan Hernangómez as well as stars also active in Europe with Rudy Fernández , Víctor Claver and Sergio Llull , Spain was not considered to be the closest favorite group for many experts at the World Cup. However, the Iberians were able to convince in the tournament, prevailed in the first and second group stages with five wins from as many games and defeated Poland in the quarter-finals and Australia in the semi-finals in the play-offs for the title . In the final, the Iberians beat Argentina 95:75 to win the second world title. Ricky Rubio was named MVP of the tournament and, like Marc Gasol, was on the All-Tournament Team. For Marc Gasol and Rudy Fernández it was also the second world title of their careers after 2006.

Squad

Spain's squad for the 2021 Olympics

player No. Surname birth size info Calls society Guards ( PG , SG ) 5 Rudy Fernández 04/04/1985 1.96 229 real Madrid 6th Sergio Rodríguez 06/12/1986 1.92 150  Olimpia Milano 9 Ricky Rubio October 21, 1990 1.92 153  Minnesota Timberwolves 21 Alex Abrines 08/01/1993 1.98 46 FC Barcelona 23 Sergio Llull 11/15/1987 1.91 148 real Madrid Forwards ( SF , PF ) 3 Xabier López-Arostegui 05/19/1997 2.00 12th Valencia Basket Club 10 Victor Claver 08/30/1988 2.06 153 Valencia Basket Club 16 Usman Garuba 03/09/2002 2.03 5 real Madrid 20th Alberto Abalde 12/15/1995 2.02 14th real Madrid Center ( C ) 4th Pau Gasol 06/06/1980 2.15 212 FC Barcelona 13 Marc Gasol 01/29/1985 2.13 187  Los Angeles Lakers 14th Willy Hernangomez 05/27/1994 2.11 66  New Orleans Pelicans

Trainer Nat. Surname position Sergio Scariolo Head coach Legend Abbr. meaning Team captain swell Team homepage Status: July 22, 2021

Extended squad

position	player	size	vintage	Current club	Missions 1
Forward	Juan Hernangomez	206 cm	1995	Minnesota Timberwolves	37
Forward	Serge Ibaka	208 cm	1989	Los Angeles Clippers	50
Forward	Nikola Mirotic	208 cm	1991	FC Barcelona	30th

¹ Data status July 22, 2021

successes

Basketball World Cup :

• 2 gold medals: 2006 , 2019

Summer Olympics :

• 3 silver medals: 1984 , 2008 , 2012
• 1 bronze medal: 2016

European basketball championship :

• 3 gold medals: 2009 , 2011 , 2015
• 6 silver medals: 1935 , 1973 , 1983 , 1999 , 2003 , 2007
• 4 bronze medals: 1991 , 2001 , 2013 , 2017

Mediterranean Games :

• 3 gold medals: 1955, 1997, 2001
• 4 silver medals: 1951, 1959, 1963, 1987
• 1 bronze medal: 2005

facts and figures

Coach history

Surname Period Mariano Manent / Angel Cabrera 1935 Santiago Monerris 1943 Anselmo López 1947-1949 Michael Ruzgis 1950-1951 Fernando Font 1951-1952 Anselmo López 1952 Jacinto Ardevínez 1953-1958 Eduardo Kucharski 1959-1960 Fernando Font 1961 Joaquín Hernández 1962-1964

Surname Period Pedro Ferrándiz 1965 Antonio Díaz-Miguel 1965-1992 Lolo Sainz 1993-2000 Javier Imbroda 2001-2002 Ramón "Moncho" López 2003 Mario Pesquera 2004-2005 Pepu Hernández 2006-2007 Aíto García Reneses 2008 Sergio Scariolo 2009–2012 Juan Antonio Orenga 2012-2014

Surname Period Sergio Scariolo Since 2015

Stakes and points for Spain

Players in bold are still active (as of September 15, 2019).

Calls

rank	Surname	Calls	Period
01.	Juan Carlos Navarro	253	2000-2017
02.	Juan Antonio San Epifanio	239	1979-1994
03.	Felipe Reyes	236	2001-2016
04th	Rudy Fernández	224	2004–0000
05.	Francesc Buscató	222	1959-1973
06th	Pau Gasol	208	2001–0000
07th	José Calderón	193	2002-2016
08th.	Wayne Brabender	190	1968-1982
09.	Josep Maria Margall	188	1975-1988
10	Andrés Jiménez	187	1982-1994

Points

rank	Surname	Games	Points	O	Period
01.	Pau Gasol	208	3599	17.3	2001–0000
02.	Juan Antonio San Epifanio	239	3330	13.9	1979-1994
03.	Wayne Brabender	190	2861	12.7	1968-1982
04th	Emiliano Rodríguez	175	2842	16.2	1958-1971
05.	Juan Carlos Navarro	253	2796	11.1	2000-2017
06th	Andrés Jiménez	186	2393	12.8	1982-1994
07th	Clifford Luyk	150	2021	13.5	1966-1976
08th.	Alberto Herreros	172	2003	11.6	1990-2003
09.	Rudy Fernández	224	1915	08.5	2004–0000
10.	Francesc Buscató	222	1913	08.6	1959-1973

Results at international tournaments

Olympic Summer Games

year location result 1936 Berlin Not participated 1948 London Not qualified 1952 Helsinki Not qualified 1956 Melbourne Not participated 1960 Rome 14th place 1964 Tokyo Not qualified 1968 Mexico City 7th place 1972 Munich 11th place 1976 Montreal Not qualified 1980 Moscow 4th Place

year location result 1984 Los Angeles Silver medal 1988 Seoul 8th place 1992 Barcelona 9th place 1996 Atlanta Not qualified 2000 Sydney 9th place 2004 Athens 7th place 2008 Beijing Silver medal 2012 London Silver medal 2016 Rio de Janeiro Bronze medal 2021 Tokyo Qualified

Basketball world championships

year location result 1950 Argentina 9th place 1954 Brazil Not qualified 1959 Chile Not qualified 1963 Brazil Not qualified 1967 Uruguay Not qualified 1970 Yugoslavia Not qualified 1974 Puerto Rico 5th place 1978 Philippines Not qualified 1982 Colombia 4th Place

year location result 1986 Spain 5th place 1990 Argentina 10th place 1994 Canada 10th place 1998 Greece 5th place 2002 United States 5th place 2006 Japan gold medal 2010 Turkey 6th place 2014 Spain 5th place 2019 China gold medal

European basketball championships

year location result 1935 Switzerland Silver medal 1937 Latvia Not participated 1939 Lithuania Not participated 1946 Switzerland Not participated 1947 Czechoslovakia Not participated 1949 Egypt Not participated 1951 France Not participated 1953 Soviet Union Not participated 1955 Hungary Not participated 1957 Bulgaria Not participated 1959 Turkey 15th place 1961 Yugoslavia 13th place 1963 Poland 7th place 1965 Soviet Union 11th place

year location result 1967 Finland 10th place 1969 Italy 5th place 1971 Germany 7th place 1973 Spain Silver medal 1975 Yugoslavia 4th Place 1977 Belgium 9th place 1979 Italy 6th place 1981 Czechoslovakia 4th Place 1983 France Silver medal 1985 Germany 4th Place 1987 Greece 4th Place 1989 Yugoslavia 5th place 1991 Italy Bronze medal 1993 Germany 5th place

year location result 1995 Greece 6th place 1997 Spain 5th place 1999 France Silver medal 2001 Turkey Bronze medal 2003 Sweden Silver medal 2005 Serbia and Montenegro 4th Place 2007 Spain Silver medal 2009 Poland gold medal 2011 Lithuania gold medal 2013 Slovenia Bronze medal 2015 Germany , France , Croatia , Latvia gold medal 2017 Finland , Israel , Romania , Turkey Bronze medal 2022 Germany , Georgia , Italy , Czech Republic Qualified

Records

• Player with the most ...

• Appearances: Juan Carlos Navarro , 253 games.
• Points: Pau Gasol , 3,599 points.
• Points in a game: Jordi Villacampa , 48 points in the 1990 World Basketball Championship against Venezuela .
• Olympic participations: Juan Carlos Navarro , 5 (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016).
• Medals: Pau Gasol , 11: 4 gold (World Cup 2006, European Championships 2009, 2011, 2015), 4 silver (European Championships 2003 and 2007, Olympic Games 2008 and 2012), 3 bronze (Olympic Games 2016, European Championships 2001 and 2017).

• Trainer with the most ...

• guided games: Antonio Díaz-Miguel , 423 games in 27 years.
• Medals: Sergio Scariolo , 7 medals.

Record against national teams from the German-speaking area

All results from a Spanish point of view.

National team	Games	Victories	Defeats	Points ratio	last game
Germany	31	27	4th	2525: 2141	Sep 10 2015
GDR	3	1	2	230: 236	June 9, 1965
Luxembourg	1	1	0	88:58	5th June 1964
Austria	5	5	0	394: 269	May 7, 1979
Switzerland	13	13	0	1146: 6710	Nov 24, 1988

See also

• Basketball in Spain

Web links

Commons : Spanish national basketball team  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official homepage of the national team

Individual evidence

1. ^ FIBA World Championships History. (PDF) In: fiba.com. P. 3 , accessed on June 23, 2011 (English).