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Croatia men's national basketball team

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

Croatia
FIBA ranking32 Increase 1 (26 November 2024)[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 place 1992 Barcelona Team
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Canada
EuroBasket
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Germany
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Greece
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2009 Pescara Team
Silver medal – second place 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Team

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

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Prior to Croatian independence

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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

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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

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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

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

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total
Summer Olympics 0 1 0 1
FIBA World Cup 0 0 1 1
EuroBasket 0 0 2 2
Mediterranean Games 1 1 0 2
Stanković Cup 2 1 0 3
Total 3 3 3 9

Competitive record

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Results and fixtures

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  Win   Loss

2023

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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

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23 February 2024 France  73–61  Croatia Brest, France
20:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 15–14, 20–16, 22–14, 16–17
Pts: Luwawu-Cabarrot 15
Rebs: Cordinier 6
Asts: Albicy, Inglis 4 		Boxscore Pts: Hezonja 22
Rebs: three players 5
Asts: three players 3 		Arena: Brest Arena
Attendance: 5,029
Referees: Wojciech Liszka (POL), Michał Proc (POL), Mehmet Karabilecen (TUR)
26 February 2024 Croatia  92–63  Cyprus Rijeka, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 22–8, 26–16, 22–26, 22–13
Pts: Prkačin 24
Rebs: Hezonja, Prkačin 10
Asts: Kapusta 8 		Boxscore Pts: Simitzis 17
Rebs: Willis 9
Asts: Mantovani, Willis 3 		Arena: Zamet Sports Centre
Attendance: 2,500
Referees: Radomir Vojinović (MNE), Ventsislav Velikov (BUL), Can Mavisu (TUR)
2 July 2024 Slovenia  92–108  Croatia Piraeus, Greece
21:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 16–31, 25–23, 27–39, 24–15
Pts: Dončić 26
Rebs: Dončić 11
Asts: Dončić 10 		Boxscore Pts: Filipović 21
Rebs: Šarić 10
Asts: Šarić 10 		Arena: Peace and Friendship Stadium
Attendance: 4,109
Referees: Luis Vázquez (PUR), Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Daniel García (VEN)
3 July 2024 Croatia  86–90  New Zealand Piraeus, Greece
17:30 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 31–27, 19–19, 7–16
Pts: Zubac 29
Rebs: Zubac 16
Asts: Hezonja 6 		Boxscore Pts: Webster 21
Rebs: Delany 9
Asts: Ili 4 		Arena: Peace and Friendship Stadium
Attendance: 396
Referees: Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Julio Anaya (PAN), Ahmed Al-Shuwaili (IRQ)
6 July 2024 Dominican Republic  77–80  Croatia Piraeus, Greece
21:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 17–21, 21–16, 24–27
Pts: Duarte 17
Rebs: Montero, Santos 5
Asts: Duarte, Montero 4 		Boxscore Pts: Zubac 25
Rebs: Zubac 9
Asts: Hezonja 4 		Arena: Peace and Friendship Stadium
Attendance: 1,907
Referees: Julio Anaya (PAN), Manuel Mazzoni (ITA), Ahmed Al-Shuwaili (IRQ)
7 July 2024 Croatia  69–80  Greece Piraeus, Greece
21:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 17–23, 14–21, 16–14
Pts: Zubac 19
Rebs: Šarić, Zubac 12
Asts: Smith 7 		Boxscore Pts: G. Antetokounmpo 23
Rebs: G. Antetokounmpo 8
Asts: Calathes 11 		Arena: Peace and Friendship Stadium
Attendance: 11,810
Referees: Roberto Vázquez (PUR), Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Julio Anaya (PAN)
21 November 2024 Croatia  89–76  Bosnia and Herzegovina Zagreb, Croatia
20:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 30–19, 20–29, 23–12, 16–16
Pts: Božić 25
Rebs: Božić 9
Asts: Smith 4 		Boxscore Pts: Gegić 18
Rebs: Gegić 8
Asts: Atić 6 		Arena: Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall
Attendance: 4,000
Referees: Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Marius Ciulin (ROU), Gintaras Mačiulis (LTU)
24 November 2024 Bosnia and Herzegovina  110–90  Croatia Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
18:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 28–29, 33–13, 27–27
Pts: Kamenjaš 21
Rebs: Kamenjaš 10
Asts: Musa 5 		Boxscore Pts: Hezonja 28
Rebs: Hezonja 6
Asts: Božić 6 		Arena: Mirza Delibašić Hall
Attendance: 5,500
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Wojciech Liszka (POL), Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU)

2025

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

Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 21 and 24 November 2024 against Bosnia and Herzegovina.[12]

Croatia men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
G 3 Jaleen Smith 29 – (1994-11-24)24 November 1994 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Bahçeşehir Koleji Turkey
PG 4 Borna Kapusta 28 – (1996-07-24)24 July 1996 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Split Croatia
SG 5 Filip Krušlin 35 – (1989-03-18)18 March 1989 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Strasbourg France
F 6 David Škara 29 – (1995-02-26)26 February 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Split Croatia
G/F 8 Mario Hezonja 29 – (1995-02-25)25 February 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Real Madrid Spain
PF 10 Filip Bundović 30 – (1994-02-16)16 February 1994 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Cibona Croatia
PF 17 Roko Prkačin 21 – (2002-11-26)26 November 2002 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Nanterre France
F/C 19 Luka Šamanić 24 – (2000-01-09)9 January 2000 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Free agent
C 22 Danko Branković 24 – (2000-11-05)5 November 2000 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) Bayern Munich Germany
SG 23 Mateo Drežnjak 25 – (1999-03-08)8 March 1999 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Budućnost Montenegro
SF 24 Dario Drežnjak 26 – (1998-03-24)24 March 1998 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Napoli Italy
SF 29 Luka Božić 28 – (1996-04-29)29 April 1996 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Força Lleida Spain
PG 32 Roko Rogić 32 – (1992-09-25)25 September 1992 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Cibona Croatia
G/F 46 Marko Ramljak 31 – (1993-03-14)14 March 1993 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Zadar Croatia
PG 77 Martin Junaković 30 – (1994-02-16)16 February 1994 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Šibenka Croatia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 21 November 2024

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Danko Branković Luka Šamanić Filip Bundović
PF Dario Drežnjak Roko Prkačin David Škara
SF Mario Hezonja Marko Ramljak Mateo Drežnjak
SG Luka Božić Filip Krušlin Martin Junaković
PG Jaleen Smith Borna Kapusta Roko Rogić

Head coaches

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Past rosters

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See also: List of Croatia men's national basketball team players

Notable players and coaches

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Head-to-head record

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Biggest tournament wins

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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

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-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

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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[14]
  • +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
  • +29 vs. Cyprus (92–63) 2025
  • +25 vs. Austria (100–75) 2025

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  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. ^ "Croatia during the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers in November 2024". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ^ "ACO PETROVIĆ OTIŠAO, A HRVATSKA EKSPRESNO DOBILA NOVOG IZBORNIKA EVO TKO ĆE VODITI REPREZENTACIJU U KVALIFIKACIJAMA ZA SVJETSKO PRVENSTVO!". Jutarnji.hr. 15 September 2017.
  14. ^ "XXVIII European Championship (München 1993) Qualifying stage". Linguasport. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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