The NBA is, without a doubt, the best-known basketball league in the world. It is one of the North American sports that went global, it has fans and followers from all corners of the globe, and it also gathers players from a series of countries – the highest number of non-American players in the NBA come from countries like France, Australia, Serbia, Croatia, and Germany.
Notice how many European countries are on the list?
While the NBA certainly steals the show, it is not the only major basketball league there is. Many European countries have high-profile basketball teams that measure their worth once every four years in a major European championship commonly referred to as “EuroBasket”.
Older than the NBA
EuroBasket – officially, the European Basketball Championship – was born more than a decade before the NBA. The first edition of the competition was held in 1935, three years after the creation of FIBA – the International Basketball Federation – was created.
The host of the first EuroBasket tournament was Switzerland – the FIBA is based in this country – and the gold medal was taken home by the national team of Latvia.
The Biggest Winners
The nation with the highest number of EuroBasket medals (including gold medals) is the Soviet Union – between 1935 and 2017, the Soviets won 14 tournament titles, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals. The least successful European teams at the EuroBasket competitions are Turkey and Israel with a single silver medal each.
Qualification and Tournament Format
There are currently 24 spots in EuroBasket – one is reserved for the host nation, seven are determined by the teams’ standings in the previous edition of EuroBasket, while the rest of the spots are determined in qualification rounds. Then, after a group knockout stage, the teams progress to the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals. In 2017, Slovenia and Serbia played the final, and Spain faced Russia for third place on the podium – Slovenia won its first European title.
EuroBasket MVP and Other Accolades
EuroBasket has its own accolades, much like the NBA – there is a title for the MVP and an all-star team as well.
The most valuable player of the 2017 EuroBasket tournament was Slovenian player Goran Dragić playing for the NBA team Miami Heat, who was named an NBA All-Star in 2018. The EuroBasket All-Tournament Team is awarded to the five best players in the EuroBasket – the last edition’s all-star team consisted of the above-mentioned Dragić, Russian player Alexey Shved, Serbian player Bogdan Bogdanović (playing for the Sacramento Kings), Slovenian player Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks), and Spanish player and six-time NBA All-Star Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers).
EuroBasket Women
EuroBasket Women, the European championship in women’s basketball, is held every two years. It also serves as the qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and the Olympic Games. It only has 16 teams competing for the gold.
EuroBasket Women is also older than the NBA – its inaugural tournament was held in 1938, hosted by Italy. The most recent edition of the tournament was hosted by Serbia and Latvia, with Spain winning its fourth EuroBasket Women gold medal, becoming the most successful active team in the tournament (the Soviet Union won the most gold medals in the competition).