Argentina men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Argentina women's national basketball team.

Argentina

FIBA ranking	8 (26 November 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1932 (co-founders)
FIBA zone	FIBA Americas
National federation	CABB
Coach	Pablo Prigioni
Nickname(s)	El Alma Argentina (The Argentine Soul)
Olympic Games
Appearances	9
Medals	Gold: (2004) Bronze: (2008)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	14
Medals	Gold: (1950) Silver: (2002, 2019)
FIBA AmeriCup
Appearances	19
Medals	Gold: (2001, 2011, 2022) Silver: (1995, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2015, 2017) Bronze: (1980, 1993, 1999, 2009, 2013)
Pan American Games
Appearances	17
Medals	Gold: (1995, 2019, 2023) Silver: (1951, 1955)
Home Away
First international
1921 v. Uruguay[2]
Medal record Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team FIBA World Cup 1950 Argentina 2002 United States 2019 China FIBA AmeriCup 2001 Argentina 2011 Argentina 2022 Brazil 1995 Argentina 2003 Puerto Rico 2005 Dominican Republic 2007 United States 2015 Mexico 2017 Argentina/Colombia/Uruguay 1980 Puerto Rico 1993 Puerto Rico 1999 Puerto Rico 2009 Puerto Rico 2013 Venezuela FIBA Diamond Ball 2008 Nanjing 2004 Belgrade

The Argentina men's national basketball team (Spanish: selección de básquetbol^[a] de Argentina) represents Argentina in men's international basketball officially nicknamed The Argentine Soul^[3] (Spanish: El Alma Argentina), and it is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation.

Argentina's national basketball team remains among the most successful in the Americas and one of the most successful in the world. It is the only national team in the FIBA Americas zone that has won the quintuplet crown: FIBA World Cup (they won the first edition, in 1950), Olympic Gold Medal (2004, considered the highest honor and most important title in the history of the Argentine men's team), FIBA Diamond Ball (2008), FIBA AmeriCup (2001, 2011 and 2022) and Pan American Gold Medal (1995, 2019 and 2023). They are also one of only four countries to have won the Olympic gold medal and FIBA World Cup joining the Soviet Union, the United States of America, and Yugoslavia. They have also won 13 South American Basketball Championships, as well as many youth championships.

The Argentine representative were also the first country to defeat a United States national team with a full squad of NBA players. They did so by 87–80 in the 2002 FIBA World Championship held in Indianapolis. In that tournament, Argentina came second behind FR Yugoslavia, losing the final in overtime.

Due to the series of good results since the beginning of the 2000s, Argentina reached the first position in the FIBA Men's Ranking at the end of the 2008 Olympic Games. Argentina is a founding member of the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA) and has South America's longest basketball tradition.

History

Main article: History of the Argentina national basketball team

The practice of basketball in Argentina was started by Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (Young Men's Christian Association – YMCA) in 1912,^[4] with the first Federation (Federación Argentina) established to organise competitions not only in Buenos Aires but in several cities around Argentina.

The first national team as covered by El Gráfico magazine in 1921

Argentina played its first international game against Uruguay in 1921.

In 1950 Argentina won its first and only World Championship to date, with a squad formed entirely of amateur players, after defeating France (twice), Brazil, Chile, Egypt and the United States in the decisive match.

With the creation of the Liga Nacional de Básquet in the mid-1980s, a new generation of players led Argentina to a moderate success in the 1986 World Championship where the squad defeated United States for the first time.

2001 was the year when the Golden Generation, winning Argentina's first FIBA Americas Championship – held in Neuquen – where they defeated all of their rivals in the competition.^[5] The progress of Argentine basketball would be shown in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, where they became the first team to defeat a United States roster composed entirely of NBA players and also reached the final, finally losing to Yugoslavia.^[6] Argentina would reach the finals for the first time since the first World Championship in 1950,^[7] but the most important achievement for the squad came in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens when Argentina won their first gold medal, including another victory over the United States at the semi-finals. The Olympics title in 2004 was the highest honor and most important title won in Argentine basketball history.^[8]

Uniforms and suppliers

Period	Kit manufacturer
1970s–1997	Topper
1998–2001	Adidas
2002–2007	Topper
2007–2013	Li-Ning
2014–2017	Kappa
2017–2020	Jordan
2022–present	Kelme

Since its establishment, the Argentina national team had worn white kits. The team had a long tenure wearing Topper, which was the official supplier since the 1970s to 2007. In 2002, two light blue horizontal stripes (similar to the National flag) were added to the jerseys. When the contract with Topper expired in 2007, the CABB signed an agreement with Chinese firm Li-Ning,^[9] which kept the design established by Topper.^[10]

Italian company Kappa was the uniforms supplier since 2013.^[11] In 2014 the company designed a vertical striped model in the style of football and field hockey representatives. The jersey debuted in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.^[12][13] When Nike became official sponsor through its brand Air Jordan, the Argentina jersey returned to a simple white color scheme. The deal extended to 2020, when the American company ceased operations in Argentina.^[14]

Starting in 2022, Spanish Kelme is the current kit provider for all the Argentina basketball teams.^[15]

Honours

• Olympic Games
  • Gold (1): 2004
  • Bronze (1): 2008
• FIBA World Cup
  • Gold (1): 1950
  • Silver (2): 2002, 2019
• FIBA Diamond Ball
  • Gold (1): 2008
  • Bronze (1): 2004
• FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
  • Gold (1): 2013 (2)
  • Silver (3): 2005, 2013 (1), 2016
• FIBA AmeriCup
  • Gold (3): 2001, 2011, 2022
  • Silver (6): 1995, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2015, 2017
  • Bronze (5): 1980, 1993, 1999, 2009, 2013
• Pan American Games
  • Gold (3): 1995, 2019, 2023
  • Silver (2): 1951, 1955
• South American Championship
  • Gold (13): 1934, 1935, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1966, 1976, 1979, 1987, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012
  • Silver (12): 1930, 1938, 1940, 1973, 1983, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2014
  • Bronze (13): 1932, 1939, 1945, 1960, 1961, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2006

Competition results

Olympic Games Summer Olympic Games Record Year Position Pld W L 1936 did not participate 1948 15th place 8 4 4 1952 4th place 8 5 3 1956 to 1976 did not participate 1980 Originally qualified, but later withdrew 1984 to 1992 did not participate 1996 9th place 7 4 3 2000 did not participate 2004 Gold Medal 8 6 2 2008 Bronze Medal 8 6 2 2012 4th place 8 4 4 2016 8th place 6 3 3 2020 7th place 4 1 3 2024 did not qualify Total 57 33 24 FIBA World Cup FIBA World Cup Record Year Position Pld W L 1950 Champions 6 6 0 1954 did not participate 1959 10th 6 3 3 1963 8th 8 4 4 1967 6th 9 3 6 1970 did not participate 1974 11th 7 2 5 1978 did not participate 1982 did not participate 1986 12th 10 5 5 1990 8th 8 2 6 1994 9th 8 5 3 1998 8th 9 3 6 2002 Runner-up 9 8 1 2006 4th 9 7 2 2010 5th 9 7 2 2014 11th 6 3 3 2019 Runner-up 8 7 1 2023 Did not qualify 2027 To be determined Total 112 65 47 FIBA Diamond Ball FIBA Diamond Ball Record Year Position Pld W L 2000 did not participate 2004 Bronze Medal 3 2 1 2008 Champions 3 3 0 Total 6 5 1 FIBA AmeriCup FIBA AmeriCup Record Year Position Pld W L 1980 Third place 6 4 2 1984 7th 8 2 6 1988 5th 6 3 3 1989 8th 8 2 6 1992 6th 5 2 3 1993 Third place 7 5 2 1995 Runner-up 10 8 2 1997 4th 9 4 5 1999 Third place 10 7 3 2001 Champions 10 10 0 2003 Runner-up 10 6 4 2005 Runner-up 10 7 3 2007 Runner-up 10 8 2 2009 Third place 10 7 3 2011 Champions 10 9 1 2013 Third place 10 6 4 2015 Runner-up 10 8 2 2017 Runner-up 5 4 1 2022 Champions 6 6 0 2025 To be determined Total 160 108 52

South American Championship South American Championship Record Year Position Pld W L 1930 Runner-up 6 4 2 1932 Third place 4 0 4 1934 Champions 6 6 0 1935 Champions 4 3 1 1937 5th 8 2 6 1938 Runner-up 4 3 1 1939 Third place 4 2 2 1940 Runner-up 5 4 1 1941 Champions 5 5 0 1942 Champions 5 4 1 1943 Champions 8 5 3 1945 Third place 5 3 2 1947 5th 5 2 3 1949 5th 5 2 3 1953 did not participate 1955 4th 5 3 2 1958 4th 7 4 3 1960 Third place 6 4 2 1961 Third place 7 5 2 1963 4th 8 5 3 1966 Champions 7 6 1 1968 5th 7 4 3 1969 Third place 6 4 2 1971 Third place 7 5 2 1973 Runner-up 7 6 1 1976 Champions 6 6 0 1977 Third place 8 6 2 1979 Champions 6 6 0 1981 Third place 5 3 2 1983 Runner-up 5 3 2 1985 Third place 7 5 2 1987 Champions 6 5 1 1989 Runner-up 9 7 2 1991 Third place 7 6 1 1993 Runner-up 7 5 2 1995 Runner-up 7 3 4 1997 Third place 7 4 3 1999 Runner-up 6 5 1 2001 Champions 9 9 0 2003 Runner-up 6 4 2 2004 Champions 6 5 1 2006 Third place 4 3 1 2008 Champions 6 5 1 2010 Runner-up 5 3 2 2012 Champions 5 5 0 2014 Runner-up 5 4 1 2016 4th 6 4 2 Total 270 190 80 Pan American Games Pan American Games Record Year Position Pld W L 1951 Silver Medal 6 5 1 1955 Silver Medal 5 4 1 1959 did not participate 1963 did not participate 1967 6th 5 1 4 1971 5th 9 5 4 1975 7th 9 3 6 1979 6th 9 3 6 1983 5th 9 4 5 1987 9th 5 1 4 1991 6th 7 3 4 1995 Gold Medal 7 7 0 1999 4th 5 2 3 2003 6th 5 2 3 2007 4th 5 2 3 2011 7th 4 2 2 2015 5th 4 2 2 2019 Gold medal 5 4 1 2023 Gold medal 5 5 0 Total 104 55 49

Players

Current roster

Roster for the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup.^[16]

Argentina men's national basketball team – 2022 FIBA AmeriCup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. SG 2 Máximo Fjellerup 24 – (1997-11-25)25 November 1997 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Bàsquet Girona PG 7 Facundo Campazzo (C) 31 – (1991-03-23)23 March 1991 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) KK Crvena Zvezda PG 8 Nicolás Laprovíttola 32 – (1990-01-31)31 January 1990 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Barcelona SF 9 Nicolás Brussino 29 – (1993-03-02)2 March 1993 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Gran Canaria SG 10 Carlos Delfino 40 – (1982-08-29)29 August 1982 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Victoria Libertas PG 11 José Vildoza 27 – (1995-08-11)11 August 1995 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Flamengo C 12 Marcos Delía 30 – (1992-08-08)8 August 1992 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) BC Wolves PF 14 Gabriel Deck 27 – (1995-02-08)8 February 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Real Madrid SF 22 Juan Pablo Vaulet 26 – (1996-03-22)22 March 1996 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Manresa PF 25 Tomás Chapero 21 – (2001-06-10)10 June 2001 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Ourense SG 31 Leandro Bolmaro 21 – (2000-09-11)11 September 2000 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Utah Jazz C 83 Tayavek Gallizzi 29 – (1993-02-08)8 February 1993 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Instituto	Head coach Pablo Prigioni[17] Assistant coach(es) Gonzalo García Leo Gutiérrez Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes current or most recent club Age – describes age on 2 September 2022

Past roster

Roster for the men's basketball tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Argentina men's basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. PF 4 Luis Scola 41 – (1980-04-30)30 April 1980 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Pallacanestro Varese PG 7 Facundo Campazzo 30 – (1991-03-23)23 March 1991 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Denver Nuggets PG 8 Nicolás Laprovíttola 31 – (1990-01-31)31 January 1990 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Real Madrid SF 9 Nicolás Brussino 28 – (1993-03-02)2 March 1993 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Basket Zaragoza SG 10 Leandro Bolmaro 20 – (2000-09-11)11 September 2000 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) FC Barcelona C 11 Francisco Cáffaro 21 – (2000-05-19)19 May 2000 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) Virginia Cavaliers C 12 Marcos Delía 29 – (1992-04-08)8 April 1992 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Pallacanestro Trieste SF 14 Gabriel Deck 26 – (1995-02-08)8 February 1995 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Oklahoma City Thunder PG 17 Luca Vildoza 25 – (1995-08-11)11 August 1995 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) New York Knicks SF 22 Juan Pablo Vaulet 25 – (1996-03-22)22 March 1996 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Manresa SF 29 Patricio Garino 28 – (1993-05-17)17 May 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) BC Žalgiris C 83 Tayavek Gallizzi 28 – (1993-02-08)8 February 1993 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Regatas Corrientes	Head coach Sergio Hernández[18] Assistant coach(es) Gabriel Piccato Silvio Santander Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes current club Age – describes age on 25 July 2021

Retired numbers

In July 2017, the Argentine Basketball Confederation announced that numbers 5 and 13 would be retired since the 2017 edition of FIBA AmeriCup and for the rest of championships played by the senior team from then on.^[19]

Argentina retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Tenure	Games	Points	Ref.
5	Emanuel Ginóbili	SG	1998–2016	104	1,588	[19][20]
13	Andrés Nocioni	SF	1999–2016	121	1,364	[19]

Head coaches

• León Najnudel: (1985)^[21]
• Flor Meléndez: (1986–1987)^[22]
• Alberto Finger: (1987–1989)^[23]
• Carlos Boismené: (1989–1992)^[24]
• Walter Garrone: (1992)^[25]
• Guillermo Vecchio: (1993–1996)^[26]
• Julio Lamas: (1997–1999)^[27]
• Rubén Magnano: (2000–2004)^[28]
• Sergio Hernández: (2005–2010)^[29]
• Julio Lamas: (2011–2014)^[27]
• Sergio Hernández: (2015–2020)^[30]
• Gabriel Picatto: (2020–2021)^[31]
• Sergio Hernández: (2021)^[32]
• Néstor García: (2021–2022)^[33]
• Pablo Prigioni: (2022–present)^[34]

Notes

1. The word básquetbol is specific to Rioplatense Spanish, the standard Spanish dialect of Argentina. In most other forms of Spanish, this word would be baloncesto.

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
2. Linea de Tiempo del Básquet Argentino by Ricardo Orcasitas, CABB website
3. "El Alma Argentina" Archived 29 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine on CABB website. Retrieved 9 July 2016
4. Historia en la Argentina on Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes en la Argentina website (Archive – 11 March 2012)
5. http://www.mdzol.com/nota/320318-en-neuquen-2001-la-generacion-dorada-del-basquet-argentino-sentaba-las-bases/ Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine En Neuquén 2001, la Generación Dorada del básquet argentino, sentaba las bases. mdzol.com
6. Argentina hands NBA players first international loss, Sports Illustrated, 5 September 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
7. Argentina book final spot, BBC Sport, 7 September 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
8. A 10 años del oro en los Juego Olímpicos Atenas 2004, los tres momentos que Manu Ginóbili jamás olvidará, La Nación, 26 August 2014
9. Li ning comienza con el desembarco en el basquet argentino on CABB, 9 Feb 2007
10. Li Ning, el patrocinador de Argentina que quiere desplazar a Adidas y Nike – Perfil.com, 7 Aug 2008
11. Kappa, la indumentaria de Argentina por cuatro años on CABB, 14 May 2013
12. "La Selección argentina de básquet presentó su camiseta Kappa para España 2014" Marketing Registrado, 5 August 2014
13. "Argentina Presentó La Camiseta Para El Mundial" Archived 18 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Córdoba Times, 4 August 2014
14. Argentina se queda sin Nike, ¿quién la reemplazará?. Basqietplus, 9 Jul 2020
15. Se presentó la nueva indumentaria de la Selección Argentina on CABB, 31 Jul 2022
16. "La Selección inicia su camino en la AmeriCup de Brasil". argentina.basketball (in Spanish). 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
17. "Team Roster: Argentina" (PDF). fiba.basketball. 2 September 2022. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
18. "Team Roster Argentina" (PDF). olympics.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
19. CABB anuncia el retiro de las camisetas de Ginóbili y Nocioni by Germán Beder on CABB website, 29 July 2017
20. El homenaje de la selección de básquet a Ginóbili y Nocioni: retirarán sus números on Infobae, 29 July 2017
21. "León Najnudel, el viajero del tiempo". 15 July 2020.
22. @cabboficial (12 January 2021). "Hoy cumple Flor Meléndez.🏀 Entrenador boricua que dejó su huella en el básquet argentino. DT de la Selección entr…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
23. "El legado intacto de Alberto Finger - FEBAMBA".
24. "El recuerdo de Carlos "Tite" Boismené - ABB". 11 August 2021.
25. "Fue multicampeón con Atenas, dirigió a la Selección contra Michael Jordan y a los 72 años es el nuevo Director Nacional de Básquet Adaptado".
26. "Guillermo Vecchio: 'De este equipo me gusta todo; son la Generación Platino'". 14 September 2019.
27. "El regreso de Julio Lamas a la Selección: Datos y opiniones | CAB".
28. "El fin de un ciclo: Renunció Rubén Magnano". 4 November 2004.
29. "Sergio Hernández 15 años después de su asunción - ABB". 31 March 2020.
30. "Sergio Hernández vuelve a ser el DT de la selección de básquet".
31. "Gabriel Piccato es el nuevo entrenador de la Selección Mayor | CAB".
32. "Oveja Hernández abandona Zaragoza y se vuelve a la Argentina: "Necesito estar con mis hijos"". 17 April 2021.
33. "¡Echaron al Che García de la Selección!". 30 August 2022.
34. "Pablo Prigioni es el nuevo entrenador de la Selección Argentina | CAB".

External links

• Official website
• FIBA profile
• Latinbasket – Argentina Men National Team Archived 26 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• Argentina Basketball Records at FIBA Archive Archived 17 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
• Argentina – Tournament Highlights – 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup on YouTube