Lithuania men's national basketball team
Men's national basketball team representing Lithuania / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Lithuania men's national basketball team (Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinė vyrų krepšinio rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania. Despite Lithuania's small size, with a population of less than 3 million, the country's devotion to basketball has made them a traditional force of the sport in Europe.[4]
| |||
| FIBA ranking | 10  2 (15 September 2023)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1936 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | LKF | ||
| Coach | Kazys Maksvytis | ||
| Nickname(s) | The Other Dream Team, The Second Religion, The Baltic Giants, The Green Death, The Boogeyman from the East | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 7 | ||
| Medals |  Bronze: (1992, 1996, 2000) | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 6 | ||
| Medals |  Bronze: (2010) | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 15 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (1937, 1939, 2003) Silver: (1995, 2013, 2015) Bronze: (2007) | ||
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| First international | |||
 Latvia 41–20 Lithuania .svg/23px-Flag_of_Lithuania_(1918–1940).svg.png){kind=small} (Riga, Latvia; 13 December 1925)[2] | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Lithuania 112–9 Finland  (Kaunas, Lithuania; 27 May 1939)[3] | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 United States 127–76 Lithuania .svg/23px-Flag_of_Lithuania_(1988–2004).svg.png){kind=small} ‡(Barcelona, Spain; 6 August 1992) | |||
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.svg/16px-Gold_medal_icon_(G_initial).svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg/16px-Silver_medal_icon_(S_initial).svg.png){kind=icon}
The Lithuanian national team won the last EuroBasket tournaments prior to World War II, in 1937 and 1939. The 1939 team was led by Frank Lubin, who helped popularize basketball in the country and was called the "grandfather of Lithuanian basketball". Following the country's annexation by the Soviet Union during the war, Lithuanian players frequently formed the core of the Soviet national team. The most prevalent example was the 1988 Olympic basketball gold medal-winning team, which got most of its scoring from four Lithuanians: Valdemaras Chomičius, Rimas Kurtinaitis, Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Arvydas Sabonis.
After the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the national team was resurrected. Lithuania won bronze medals at the first three Summer Olympics to include NBA players – 1992, 1996, and 2000 – in addition to finishing fourth in 2004 and 2008, and in eighth place in 2012. The Lithuanian national team won the EuroBasket for the third time in 2003, and also a bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA World Cup.