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EuroBasket: Facts and Records

EuroBasket since 1935: winners, MVPs, records and the stories behind the results.

1935 The first EuroBasket was played in Geneva in 1935, and Latvia won it.

2013 France played at the very first EuroBasket in 1935 but did not win the European title until 2013, when Tony Parker was named MVP.

38 Spain won silver at the first EuroBasket in 1935, then waited 38 years for their next medal, in 1973.

34-32 Czechoslovakia won the first post-war EuroBasket, in Geneva in 1946, beating Italy 34-32 in the final.

14 The Soviet Union won 14 EuroBasket titles between 1947 and 1985, more than any other country.

1949 Egypt won EuroBasket 1949 on home court in Cairo.

1955 Hungary won EuroBasket 1955 at home in Budapest, the country's only European title.

63 France's Eddy Terrace scored 63 points against Albania at EuroBasket 1957, still the tournament record. Luka Dončić's 47 against France in 2022 is next.

1973 Wayne Brabender gave up his US citizenship in 1968 to play for Spain. At EuroBasket 1973 he was named MVP as Spain took silver.

78-67 Yugoslavia won its first EuroBasket in Barcelona in 1973, beating hosts Spain 78-67 in the final.

1979 Israel reached the EuroBasket final in 1979, losing to the Soviet Union, and Miki Berkovich was named MVP.

1983 Italy won their first EuroBasket in Nantes, France, in 1983, beating Spain in the final.

37 Nikos Galis averaged 37 points a game at EuroBasket 1987 and led Greece to their first title, beating the Soviet Union 103-101 after overtime.

1989 Dražen Petrović was MVP of EuroBasket 1989 as Yugoslavia won at home in Zagreb.

1991 At EuroBasket 1991 Slovenian guard Jure Zdovc left the Yugoslav team in the middle of the tournament as war broke out in Slovenia.

71-70 Germany won EuroBasket 1993 at home, beating Russia 71-70 in the final in Munich. Centre Chris Welp was named MVP.

3 Svetislav Pešić coached Germany to the 1993 EuroBasket title, then led Yugoslavia to EuroBasket gold in 2001 and the world title in 2002.

1993 In 1993 Bosnia and Herzegovina's players escaped besieged Sarajevo across no-man's-land near the airport to play at EuroBasket.

1999 Italy won their second EuroBasket in Paris in 1999, with Slovenian-born forward Gregor Fučka named MVP.

8 Yugoslavia won eight EuroBasket titles, the last in 2001. By 2025 Serbia had not won one on its own.

2001 Peja Stojaković was MVP of EuroBasket 2001, won by Yugoslavia 78-69 against hosts Turkey in the Istanbul final.

3 Turkey hosted three big tournaments in 16 years: EuroBasket 2001, the 2010 World Championship and the EuroBasket 2017 knockout rounds in Istanbul.

2005 Dirk Nowitzki led Germany to the 2005 EuroBasket final and was named tournament MVP.

85-63 Spain won their first EuroBasket in Poland in 2009, thrashing Serbia 85-63 in the final.

4 Sergio Scariolo won four EuroBaskets with Spain: in 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2022.

40 Pau Gasol scored 40 points as Spain beat hosts France in overtime in the EuroBasket 2015 semi-final in Lille.

4 EuroBasket 2015 was the first played in four countries: France, Croatia, Germany and Latvia.

2017 Slovenia, with Goran Dragić and an 18-year-old Luka Dončić, won EuroBasket 2017. Dragić was named MVP.

4 After 2017 EuroBasket moved from a two-year to a four-year cycle. The pandemic pushed the 2021 edition back to 2022.

3 Greece took three Antetokounmpo brothers to EuroBasket 2022: Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas. A fourth brother, Alex, had been named in the wider squad.

2022 In 2022 Georgia hosted EuroBasket games for the first time, with one group playing in Tbilisi.

2 Only two players have been EuroBasket MVP twice by 2025: Krešimir Ćosić (1971, 1975) and Pau Gasol (2009, 2015).

2025 Finland reached their first ever EuroBasket semi-final in 2025, then lost the bronze game 89-92 to Greece.

6 Alexander Gomelsky won six EuroBaskets with the Soviet Union, more than any other coach.

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