Everything you need to know about FIBA EuroBasket 2025
FIBA EuroBasket 2025 gets underway Wednesday, as 24 nations kick off group play across host cities in Cyprus, Finland, Poland, and Latvia. Click here to view the schedule and results.
The NBA season won't tip off for another two months, but if you're itching to watch some of the league's top stars play competitive hoops, you're in luck.
The 2025 men's FIBA EuroBasket tournament starts Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. ET when Lithuania takes on Great Britain. The first day will feature a host of familiar NBA names across six games, including the last matchup when powerhouse Serbia faces Estonia.
Here's everything you need to know about this year's European competition.
What is EuroBasket?
EuroBasket is Europe's premier international basketball tournament. Like its soccer equivalent, the UEFA European Championships, EuroBasket is held every four years, although the 2021 event was pushed to 2022 because of the pandemic. It's traditionally played between August and September, when the NBA and most European domestic leagues are still in their offseasons.
The tournament's been made up of 24 teams since 2011, when it increased from 16. The Soviet Union/Russia has won the tournament a record 15 times, thanks to a run of eight straight gold medals during the '50s and '60s; however, FIBA indefinitely banned Russia from all competitions in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine. Defending champion Spain has won four of the last six tournaments, giving La Roja the most gold medals of any current nation.
How to watch
EuroBasket will be streamed exclusively on Courtside 1891 in the United States and Canada.
Where and when
This year's EuroBasket runs from Aug. 27 through the final on Sept. 14. For the fourth straight edition, four countries will share hosting duties for the opening group stage:
- Limassol, Cyprus
- Tampere, Finland
- Katowice, Poland
- Riga, Latvia
Latvia will take over as the tournament's sole host from the knockout stage through the final.
Format
Four groups of six teams each will compete in the opening round, with the top four in each group moving on to the round of 16. In the group stage, teams receive two points for a win, one for a loss, and zero for a forfeit (there are no ties).
If multiple countries finish with the same number of points, head-to-head results are used as the first tiebreaker. If they're still deadlocked, point differential and points scored are the next deciding factors.
Group A
| Team | FIBA rank | Apps. |
|---|---|---|
| Serbia ๐ท๐ธ | No. 2 | 8 |
| Latvia ๐ฑ๐ป | No. 9 | 15 |
| Czechia ๐จ๐ฟ | No. 19 | 7 |
| Turkiye ๐น๐ท | No. 27 | 26 |
| Estonia ๐ช๐ช | No. 43 | 7 |
| Portugal ๐ต๐น | No. 56 | 4 |
Group B
| Team | FIBA rank | Apps. |
|---|---|---|
| Germany ๐ฉ๐ช | No.ย 3 | 26 |
| Lithuania ๐ฑ๐น | No.ย 10 | 16 |
| Montenegro ๐ฒ๐ช | No.ย 16 | 5 |
| Finland ๐ซ๐ฎ | No.ย 20 | 18 |
| Great Britain ๐ฌ๐ง | No. 48 | 6 |
| Sweden ๐ธ๐ช | No.ย 49 | 11 |
Group C
| Team | FIBA rank | Apps. |
|---|---|---|
| Spain ๐ช๐ธ | No.ย 5 | 33 |
| Greece ๐ฌ๐ท | No.ย 13 | 29 |
| Italy ๐ฎ๐น | No.ย 14 | 39 |
| Georgia ๐ฌ๐ช | No.ย 24 | 6 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina ๐ง๐ฆ | No.ย 41 | 11 |
| Cyprus ๐จ๐พ | No.ย 84 | 1 |
Group D
| Team | FIBA rank | Apps. |
|---|---|---|
| France ๐ซ๐ท | No.ย 4 | 40 |
| Slovenia ๐ธ๐ฎ | No.ย 11 | 15 |
| Poland ๐ต๐ฑ | No.ย 17 | 30 |
| Israel ๐ฎ๐ฑ | No. 39 | 31 |
| Belgium ๐ง๐ช | No.ย 40 | 19 |
| Iceland ๐ฎ๐ธ | No.ย 50 | 3 |
The 16 teams that advance compete in a standard single-game elimination bracket. Countries that come out of Group A are matched up against Group B based on seeding (No. 1 vs. No. 4, No. 2 vs. No. 3) in the round of 16; the same applies for Groups C and D. The bracket's structure prevents teams from the same group from meeting again until the semifinals (Sept. 12) at the earliest.
Features
Top 20 players at FIBA EuroBasket 2025
Dozens of talented NBA players will represent their countries at EuroBasket 2025. The list is headlined by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who will attempt to follow up Serbia's Olympic bronze medal in 2024 with more international success. But many others will attract significant attention at the tournament, including Slovenia and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic. Read more ...
FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tiers: Can anyone match Serbia?
Jokic and Serbia are the favorites, but that won't mean much to Spain, which aims to win the tournament for the fifth time in the last seven editions. Meanwhile, Latvia, which won the inaugural 1935 tourney and claimed silver in 1939 but hasn't medaled since, is a wild card. However, if the Latvians can simply survive their group, playing the entire knockout stage at home could be a huge boon for Kristaps Porzingis and Co. Read more ...
Who's missing out
While the NBA will be well-represented, not every star will make the journey across the Atlantic.
For instance, France will be without arguably its top duo of Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Veteran swingman Evan Fournier, whose most recent NBA stint was just over a year ago with the Detroit Pistons, also won't attend. However, Les Bleus will still have a talented, younger look in the frontcourt with Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr - the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, respectively, in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs teammate Jeremy Sochan, who represents Poland internationally, will also sit out. Germany will be missing three key vets in Isaiah Hartenstein, Maxi Kleber, and Moritz Wagner, though the latter's brother and Orlando Magic teammate, Franz, will play.
Sacramento Kings big Domantas Sabonis withdrew from consideration for Lithuania, as did Chicago Bulls guard Matas Buzelis. Belgium won't have youngsters Toumani Camara and Ajay Mitchell of the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. Italy will operate without Donte DiVincenzo despite including the Minnesota Timberwolves guard on its preliminary roster.