The Serbia men's national basketball team (Serbian: Кошаркашка репрезентација Србије, romanized: Košarkaška reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in international men's basketball competition, and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked third in the FIBA World Ranking.
From 1992 to 2003, the national team played in international tournaments under the name FR Yugoslavia, and from 2003 to 2006, under the name Serbia and Montenegro. Following Montenegro’s declaration of independence in 2006, Serbia is considered sole legal successor. The Basketball Federation of Serbia retained the place of the Basketball Federation of Serbia and Montenegro as a FIBA member, and Serbia thus officially inherited all of the preceding country's results and medals.
Serbia has often been portrayed as a basketball powerhouse. With 16 members of the FIBA Hall of Fame (second most behind USA), 5 members of the Naismith’s Hall of Fame (second most behind USA) and 20% of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, Serbian players, coaches and administrators had and continue to have a profound effect on the development of basketball in Europe and the world. From the leader of the Silver Generation of Yugoslavian basketball (Radivoj Korać), through the most important players of the First Golden Generation (Dragan Kićanović, Dražen Dalipagić, Zoran Slavnić and Ratko Radovanović) and Second Golden Generation (Vlade Divac, Žarko Paspalj, Zoran Savić, Predrag Danilović), the successes of Serbian players continued even after the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991. Following its international debut in 1995, strengthened by new stars of European basketball (Aleksandar Đorđević, Dejan Bodiroga, Željko Rebrača, Miroslav Berić, Peja Stojaković and many others), the Serbian national team continued where Yugoslavia stopped by winning 7 medals from 1995 to 2002 (back to back World Championships in 1998 and 2002, 3 Eurobaskets in 1995, 1997 and 2001, silver at 1996 Olympics and bronze at 1999 Eurobasket).
The production of players continued in the 21st century with Euroleague MVPs Miloš Teodosić, Nemanja Bjelica and Vasilije Micić, along with Bogdan Bogdanović, Nenad Krstić and 3-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. In the 2020s, the new generations continue in the footsteps of their predecessors, winning titles and individual accolades in both NBA and Euroleague, simultaneously positioning the national team in second place in the FIBA ranking.
In addition to players, Serbian coaches have also significantly influenced the development of basketball in Europe for almost a century. From Naismith Hall of Famer Aleksandar Nikolić and Olympic champion Ranko Žeravica to multiple Euroleague champions Dušan Ivković, Svetislav Pešić and Božidar Maljković to Željko Obradović, the greatest coach in European basketball history and outside the NBA, Serbian coaches have won a record 19 Euroleague titles, 17 out of 26 Yugoslavian medals and 13 medals with the Serbian national team at the biggest international competitions (FIBA World Cup, Eurobasket and Summer Olympics).
The four “Fathers of Yugoslav basketball” and recipients of the prestigious FIBA Order of Merit are also Serbs; coach, journalist, commentator and founder of Crvena Zvezda basketball team Nebojša Popović, long-term president of the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia Radomir Šaper, the aforementioned founder of the Serbian (and Yugoslav) coaching school Aleksandar Nikolić and Borislav Stanković, a Serb who probably had the greatest impact on the world of basketball. As the general secretary of FIBA Stanković is responsible for bridging the conflict between the NBA and FIBA. With the agreement between Stankovic and NBA commissioner David Stern, NBA players got the opportunity to play at the Olympics, while at the same time the first wave of European players went to the NBA. The agreement made basketball truly a global sport and directly opened the door for the continuation of American dominance on the international stage as well as the creation of a base of foreign players who will win 8 NBA MVP awards in a row and counting.
Contents
History
Serbia and Montenegro
With the start of Yugoslav Wars in 1991, and subsequent breakup of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavia national team was disbanded. The team consisted of players selected from the population of over 23 million people, and the basketball infrastructure was evenly distributed among the six states which formed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In 1992, FR Yugoslavia was established as the federation of the two remaining Yugoslav republics, Serbia and Montenegro. The newly established country had less than half the population of the former country. The Basketball Federation of FR Yugoslavia became the governing body of basketball for the new country. After the adoption of UNSCR 757, the national team was suspended from participating in international tournaments. Due to these sanctions and ongoing war, the national team was prevented from participating at the 1992 Summer Olympics, EuroBasket 1993 and 1994 FIBA World Cup.
Without much sponsorship for the war-impoverished country, the national team made its comeback to the international scene at the EuroBasket 1995 in Greece, where it won the gold medal; after defeating Lithuania in the final. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, the team lost 69–95 to the United States in the gold-medal game. After the defeat, the national team would go on to claim the gold medal in their next two international competitions, EuroBasket 1997 and the 1998 FIBA World Cup; while winning the bronze medal at EuroBasket 1999 and reclaiming gold once again at the EuroBasket 2001.
One of the most notable wins for the Yugoslavia national team came in the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIBA World Cup, where the host nation of the tournament, the United States was eliminated 81–78. The significance of the win was tremendous for the Serbian people in general, as the public in Serbia perceived the United States political leadership responsible for the breakup of Yugoslavia, and destruction of the country's infrastructure; as well as civil victims during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Thereafter, the Yugoslavia national team went on to win the competition, by defeating New Zealand in the semi-finals and Argentina in the final 84–77 in OT to win the gold medal.
In 2002, FR Yugoslavia consisted of the states of Serbia and Montenegro. The merged nations came to a new agreement regarding continued co-operation, which, among other changes, promised the end of the name Yugoslavia. On 4 February 2003, the federal assembly of Yugoslavia created a loose state union—the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The following years were underwhelming as the national team failed to make the podium at international tournaments, after decades of winning medals.
Serbia
Following the dissolution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, the national team participated at the EuroBasket 2007. There, the team finished the competition failing to make it out of the group stage after three close losses. The result failed to qualify the team for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was their first time missing the Olympic tournament after missing it in 1992 due to suspension.
In December 2007, the legendary Dušan Ivković hinted that he would take the helm as head coach of the national team.
Under Ivković's coaching, a new generation of players led by Nenad Krstić and Miloš Teodosić returned some of the old glory by taking the silver medal at Eurobasket 2009. At the 2010 FIBA World Cup, after narrowly defeating Croatia in the Round of 16, Miloš Teodosić hit a deep three-point shot to upset the favourites of the tournament Spain in the quarter-finals. Entering the semis, Serbia would come up short, after a controversial referee's error to the tournament's host Turkey 83–82. With the youngest team in the competition, Serbia eventually finished in fourth place after losing to Lithuania 99–88 in the bronze-medal game.
At the EuroBasket 2011, the team failed to reach the semi-finals, finishing the tournament in eighth place; thus failing to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the EuroBasket 2013, the team was once again eliminated in the quarter-finals and finished in seventh place.
Following the EuroBasket 2013, Ivković stepped away from the position, and Serbian basketball hall of famer Aleksandar Đorđević stepped into his place.
Đorđević led the team to the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, where they lost in the final to the United States. At the EuroBasket 2015, Serbia finished in fourth place, with their only tournament loses coming in the semi-finals to Lithuania and in the bronze-medal game to France.
After winning the 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Belgrade, the national team won the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, losing in the final to the United States.
Honours
Competitive record
Name of the nation during the tournaments:
FR Yugoslavia 1992–2002
Serbia and Montenegro 2003–2006
Serbia 2007–present
Head to head record
A list of official matches played at the World and European Championships, as well as at the Olympic basketball tournament. Friendly matches are not included in this table.
Last updated: 25 September 2025
Results and fixtures
Win
Loss
Team
Head coaches
Since 1992, the national team has been managed by a total of eight different head coaches. Dušan Ivković, Željko Obradović, and Svetislav Pešić are the only coaches with more than one spell.
Player statistics
These tables include player statistics on Olympic games, FIBA World Cup and FIBA Eurobasket matches as well as matches on qualification tournaments since 1995. Friendly and preparation matches are not included.
Bold denotes players still playing international basketball.
As of 31 August 2026, after the match against Italy.
Notable players
Multiple medal winners
This is a list of people who have won two or more medals, who represented FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro or Serbia since 1995.
People in bold are still active competitors
Montenegrin players from period 1995–2005 are not included, such as Vlado Šćepanović, Predrag Drobnjak and Nikola Bulatović.
Individual awards
(including achievements of Serbian players from 1945 to 1991)
Notable coaches
Individual achievements
(including achievements of Serbian coaches from 1945 to 1991)
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Aca Nikolić – 1998
FIBA Hall of Fame
Aca Nikolić – 2007
Ranko Žeravica – 2007
Dušan Ivković – 2017
Svetislav Pešić – 2020
Milan Vasojević – 2022
NBA All-Star Game
Igor Kokoškov – 2006 (as assistant coach)
Ognjen Stojaković – 2023 (as assistant coach)
Darko Rajaković – 2023 (as head coach)
NBA–winning assistant coach
Igor Kokoškov – 2004
Dejan Milojević – 2022
Ognjen Stojaković – 2023
EuroLeague Basketball Legend Award
Dušan Ivković – 2017
50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008)
Aca Nikolić
Dušan Ivković
Željko Obradović
Božidar Maljković