Croatia
FIBA ranking30 Decrease 4 (15 September 2023)[1]
Joined FIBA1992
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationHKS
CoachJosip Sesar
Nickname(s)Kockasti
(The Chequered Ones)
Olympic Games
Appearances4
MedalsSilver Silver: (1992)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances3
MedalsBronze Bronze: (1994)
EuroBasket
Appearances14
MedalsBronze Bronze: (1993, 1995)
First international
 Germany 86–74 Croatia 
(Murcia, Spain; 22 June 1992)[2]
Biggest win
 Croatia 124–51 Iceland 
(Murcia, Spain; 24 June 1992)
Biggest defeat
 Croatia 70–103 United States 
(Barcelona, Spain; 27 July 1992)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place1992 BarcelonaTeam
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place1994 Canada
EuroBasket
Bronze medal – third place1993 Germany
Bronze medal – third place1995 Greece
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place2009 PescaraTeam
Silver medal – second place1993 Languedoc-RoussillonTeam

The Croatia men's national basketball team (Croatian: Hrvatska košarkaška reprezentacija)[3] represents Croatia in international basketball matches. The team is controlled by the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS).[4]

The biggest success Croatia has achieved was at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when the team reached the final against the United States and won the silver medal. Croatia has also won one bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup and two bronze medals at EuroBasket.

Croatia's Krešimir Ćosić, Dražen Petrović, Dino Rađa, Mirko Novosel and Toni Kukoč are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ćosić was inducted in 1996, Petrović in 2002, Rađa in 2018 and Kukoč in 2021, all as players. Novosel was inducted in 2007 as a coach. Petrović, Ćosić, Kukoč and Novosel are members of the FIBA Hall of Fame. Ćosić is also the only Croatian to have received the FIBA Order of Merit. Ćosić, however, never played for the Croatia national team. As he was only a member of the Yugoslavia national team, holding the record for number of medals (including Olyimpic gold) and the most games played by a player.

History

Prior to Croatian independence

Croatia played its first unofficial friendly game on 2 June 1964 in Karlovac.[5] Croatian team played against US All Star Team and lost 65–110 (31–50). USA players coached by Red Auerbach were Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, K. C. Jones, Jerry Lucas, Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson and Bill Russell and Croatian team was Giuseppe Gjergja, Nemanja Đurić, Živko Kasun, Zlatko Kiseljak, Slobodan Kolaković, Dragan Kovačić, Boris Križan, Stjepan Ledić, Mirko Novosel, Marko Ostarčević, Petar Skansi and Željko Troskot.[6][7]

Independent Croatia

After independence of Croatia in 1991, the first official tournament played by Croatians were the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Croatia defeated the CIS team 75–74 and reached the final against the USA Dream Team led by Michael Jordan. The USA won 85–117, but Croatia won its first medal at a major tournament in history.[8]

The next competition for Croatia was the 1993 EuroBasket in Germany. Tragically, before the tournament Dražen Petrović died in a car accident on 7 June 1993 at the age of 28. Croatia still managed to reach the bronze medal game to defeat Greece 99–59.[9]

Croatia earned its third medal at the 1994 FIBA World Cup in Canada. Croatia lost their semi-finals match against Russia 64–66, but beat Greece once again 78–60 for the bronze medal. A similar occurrence happened at the EuroBasket 1995 in Greece. Croatia lost in the semi-finals 80–90 against Lithuania, but beat Greece 73–68 for the third time in a row in a bronze medal match. That medal to date was the last Croatian medal from any major tournament. At the 1996 Summer Olympics Croatia finished in a subpar seventh place.[10]

Decline

At the EuroBasket 1997 in Spain, the new Croatian generation emerged, but ended in 11th place. Croatia failed to qualify for the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Summer Olympics, but finished sixth in 2008. Croatia also failed to qualify for the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Although the team did manage to qualify in 2010, before falling in the Round of 16. However, at the EuroBasket 2013, Croatia had its best tournament appearance since 1995, where the team finished in fourth place.[11]

Honours

The Croatia national team's all-time medal table:

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
Summer Olympics 0101
FIBA World Cup 0011
EuroBasket 0022
Mediterranean Games 1102
Stanković Cup 2103
Total 3339

Competitive record

Results and fixtures

  Win   Loss

2023

23 February 2023 Switzerland  56–64  Croatia Fribourg, Switzerland
19:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 17–19, 11–15, 7–17
Pts: Gravet, Polite 11
Rebs: Cotture 8
Asts: Kazadi 9		 Boxscore Pts: Prkačin 15
Rebs: Branković, Prkačin 8
Asts: four players 4		 Arena: Salle Saint-Lèonard
Referees: Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Stylianos Simeonidis (GRE), Can Mavisu (TUR)
26 February 2023 Croatia  84–74  Austria Split, Croatia
18:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 23–19, 27–17, 21–20, 13–18
Pts: Filipović 17
Rebs: Branković 7
Asts: Mavra 6		 Boxscore Pts: Mahalbašić 21
Rebs: Brajkovic 10
Asts: Kaferle 7		 Arena: Arena Gripe
Attendance: 1,500
Referees: Mehmet Şahin (TUR), Francisco Araña (ESP), Ivor Matějek (CZE)
19 July 2023 Croatia  89–49  Ireland Opatija, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 24–5, 32–12, 14–16, 19–16
Pts: Badžim 18
Rebs: Perković 8
Asts: Kapusta 9		 Boxscore Pts: Quinn 12
Rebs: Alajiki 5
Asts: Quinn 4		 Arena: Sportska dvorana Marino Cvetković
Attendance: 970
Referees: Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Luis Castillo (ESP), Oskars Lūcis (LAT)
22 July 2023 Croatia  98–62  Luxembourg Opatija, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 31–14, 26–20, 23–12, 18–16
Pts: Kapusta, Prkačin 16
Rebs: Branković, Mazalin 6
Asts: Badžim 6		 Boxscore Pts: Laurent 18
Rebs: Laurent, Rugg 9
Asts: Grün, Gutenkauf 4		 Arena: Sportska dvorana Marino Cvetković
Attendance: 600
Referees: Paulo Marques (POR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Ivor Matějek (CZE)
29 July 2023 Ireland  61–95  Croatia Dublin, Ireland
14:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 22–22, 8–21, 19–32
Pts: Murphy 12
Rebs: Alajiki 5
Asts: Fulton 4		 Boxscore Pts: D. Drežnjak 17
Rebs: D. Drežnjak 5
Asts: five players 3		 Arena: National Basketball Arena
Attendance: 2,000
Referees: Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Fernando Calatrava (ESP), Javier Torres (ESP)
2 August 2023 Luxembourg  79–91  Croatia Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 12–25, 25–25, 18–24, 24–17
Pts: Laurent 13
Rebs: Rugg 7
Asts: Kovac 4		 Boxscore Pts: Perković 23
Rebs: Ljubičić 7
Asts: Kapusta 9		 Arena: d'Coque
Attendance: 1,650
Referees: Can Mavisu (TUR), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Alexandre Deman (FRA)

2024

23 February 2024 France  vs.  Croatia Brest, France
20:30 (UTC+1)
Boxscore Arena: Brest Arena
26 February 2024 Croatia  vs.  Cyprus Rijeka, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+1)
Boxscore Arena: Zamet Sports Centre

2025

21 February 2025 Croatia  vs.  France Croatia
Boxscore
24 February 2025 Cyprus  vs.  Croatia Cyprus
Boxscore

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2024 FIBA Men's Pre-Qualifying Olympic Qualifying Tournament in August 2023.

Croatia men's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
SG 1 Toni Perković 25 – (1998-04-10)10 April 1998 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Orléans France
PG 2 Goran Filipović 26 – (1996-11-26)26 November 1996 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Coruña Spain
G 3 Jaleen Smith 28 – (1994-11-24)24 November 1994 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Virtus Bologna Italy
PG 4 Borna Kapusta 27 – (1996-07-24)24 July 1996 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Derby Montenegro
PF 5 Roko Prkačin 20 – (2002-11-26)26 November 2002 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Girona Spain
G/F 8 Mario Hezonja 28 – (1995-02-25)25 February 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Real Madrid Spain
PF 9 Dario Šarić 29 – (1994-04-08)8 April 1994 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) Golden State Warriors United States
SG 18 Roko Badžim 26 – (1997-08-18)18 August 1997 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Konyaspor Turkey
SG 23 Mateo Drežnjak 24 – (1999-03-08)8 March 1999 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Derby Montenegro
SF 24 Dario Drežnjak 25 – (1998-03-24)24 March 1998 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Zadar Croatia
C 40 Ivica Zubac 26 – (1997-03-18)18 March 1997 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) LA Clippers United States
C 98 Krešimir Ljubičić 25 – (1998-07-11)11 July 1998 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Cibona Croatia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Croatia Ivan Tomas
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 21 August 2023

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Ivica Zubac Krešimir Ljubičić
PF Dario Šarić Roko Prkačin
SF Mario Hezonja Roko Badžim Dario Drežnjak
SG Jaleen Smith Mateo Drežnjak Toni Perković
PG Goran Filipović Borna Kapusta

Head coaches

Past rosters

Notable players and coaches

Head-to-head record

Biggest tournament wins

20+ point difference

Olympic Games World Cup EuroBasket
  • +34 vs. Iran (91–57) 2008
  • +33 vs. Australia (98–65) 1992
  • +31 vs. China (109–78) 1996
  • +23 vs. Angola (71–48) 1996
  • +21 vs. Germany (99–78) 1992
  • +51 vs. South Korea (104–53) 1994
  • +32 vs. China (105–73) 1994
  • +31 vs. Canada (92–61) 1994
  • +26 vs. Greece (81–55) 1994
  • +21 vs. Iran (75–54) 2010
  • +20 vs. Cuba (85–65) 1994
  • +20 vs. Tunisia (84–64) 2010
  • +50 vs. Turkey (113–63) 1993
  • +40 vs. Greece (99–59) 1993
  • +38 vs. Czech Republic (107–69) 2017
  • +32 vs. Belgium (106–74) 1993
  • +25 vs. Finland (88–63) 2013
  • +22 vs. Turkey (90–68) 1995
  • +22 vs. Czech Republic (86–64) 1999
  • +22 vs. Ukraine (93–71) 2003
  • +22 vs. Portugal (90–68) 2007
  • +21 vs. Bulgaria (104–83) 1993
  • +21 vs. Great Britain (86–65) 2022
  • +20 vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (98–78) 1993
  • +20 vs. Germany (75–55) 1997

Biggest tournament losses

-20> point difference

Olympic Games World Cup EuroBasket
  • -33 vs. USA (70–103) 1992
  • -32 vs. USA (85–117) 1992
  • -31 vs. USA (71–102) 1996
  • -24 vs. Argentina (53–77) 2008
  • -28 vs. USA (78–106) 2010
  • -28 vs. Spain (40–68) 2013
  • -26 vs. Spain (66–92) 2013
  • -21 vs. Czech Republic (59–80) 2015

Biggest qualification wins

20+ point difference

Olympic qualification World Cup qualification EuroBasket qualification
  • +73 vs. Iceland (124–51) 1992
  • +52 vs. Portugal (109–57) 1992
  • +46 vs. Italy (108–62) 1992
  • +39 vs. Greece (102–63) 1992
  • +32 vs. Sweden (99–67) 2024
  • +31 vs. Belgium (86–55) 2024
  • +23 vs. Slovenia (93–70) 1992
  • +20 vs. Tunisia (72–52) 2016
  • +27 vs. Romania (90–63) 2018
  • +60 vs. Romania (115–55) 1997
  • +56 vs. Macedonia (128–72) 1993[13]
  • +40 vs. Belarus (112–72) 1993
  • +40 vs. Ireland (89–49) 2025
  • +36 vs. Luxembourg (98–62) 2025
  • +34 vs. Latvia (113–79) 1993
  • +34 vs. Ireland (95–61) 2025
  • +33 vs. Romania (119–86) 1993
  • +31 vs. Switzerland (84–53) 2025
  • +29 vs. Ukraine (107–78) 1993
  • +25 vs. Austria (100–75) 2025

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "XIII Olympic Basketball Tournament (Barcelona 1992) Qualifying stage". Linguasport. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Croatia basketball news". eurobasket.com.
  4. ↑ Naslovnica – Hrvatski košarkaški savez
  5. ↑ "All Star NBA u Šancu 1964". kafotka.net. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "U Šancu haklale NBA zvijezde, a u Draganiću gradili naftnu bušotinu". www.kaportal.hr. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "KARLOVAC: 40 GODINA NBA LIGE U KARLOVCU". Index.hr. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Croatia at the 1992 Olympic Games". Archive.fiba.com. 8 August 1992.
  9. ↑ "Croatia v Greece EuroBasket 1993 Bronze medal game results". Archive.fiba.com. 3 July 1993.
  10. ↑ "Croatia at the 1996 Olympic Games". Archive.fiba.com. 2 August 1996.
  11. ↑ "Croatia at the EuroBasket 2013". Archive.fiba.com. 22 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "ACO PETROVIĆ OTIŠAO, A HRVATSKA EKSPRESNO DOBILA NOVOG IZBORNIKA EVO TKO ĆE VODITI REPREZENTACIJU U KVALIFIKACIJAMA ZA SVJETSKO PRVENSTVO!". Jutarnji.hr. 15 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "XXVIII European Championship (München 1993) Qualifying stage". Linguasport. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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