Given how wonderful this past Olympic competition was, I've been recently thinking about the THREE best national teams in the history of each country, or at least in FIBAs current top 15. Below are FIBA's current rankings, 1-15, and next to each country I've put the year and tournament that I believe have the top three best national teams in each country's history. My rankings are determined by four major components in no particular order:
1) Significant achievements or competitive advancements
2) Talent/Skill of players
3) Level of play at a particular time. (i.e., some teams have a continuity of players year after year, such as Greece or Argentina, but that doesn't mean their success is the same in every tournament)
4) Strength of competition
Unfortunately, there's no perfect science to determining who's the best, especially when comparing different eras (say 1980 Yugoslavia vs. 2002 Yugoslavia or 1968 USA vs. 2008 USA), but I'm confident that after reviewing each team this is the best I could come up with. Some of you may agree with me, some may disagree. It's all subjective, so I'm interested in hearing the opinions of others.
1. Argentina
-2004 Olympic team
-2002 World Championship team
-2008 Olympic team
2. USA
-1992 Olympic team
-2008 Olympic team
-2003 Tournament of Americas team
3. Spain
-2006 World Championship team
-2008 Olympic team
-1984 Olympic team
4. Greece
-2005 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
-1987 Eurobasket team
5. Serbia
-1990 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
-1998 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
-2002 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
6. Lithuania
-1992 Olympic team
-2003 Eurobasket team
-1996 Olympic team
7. Germany
-2005 Eurobasket team
-1993 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
8. Italy
-2004 Olympic team
-1999 Eurobasket team
-1983 Eurobasket team
9. Australia
-1994 World Championship team
-1996 Olympic team
-1988 Olympic team
10. China
-2008 Olympic team
-2004 Olympic team
-1996 Olympic team
11. Puerto Rico
-2004 Olympic team
-1990 World Championship team
-1994 Goodwill Games/World Championship team
12. Angola
-1992 Olympic team
-1996 Olympic team
-2006 World Championship team
13. Turkey
-2001 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
-1999 Eurobasket team
14. New Zealand
-2002 World Championship team
-2001 Oceania Championship team
-2004 Olympic team
15. Russia
-1988 Olympic team (Soviet Union)
-1985 Eurobasket team (Soviet Union)
-1994 World Championship team
1) Significant achievements or competitive advancements
2) Talent/Skill of players
3) Level of play at a particular time. (i.e., some teams have a continuity of players year after year, such as Greece or Argentina, but that doesn't mean their success is the same in every tournament)
4) Strength of competition
Unfortunately, there's no perfect science to determining who's the best, especially when comparing different eras (say 1980 Yugoslavia vs. 2002 Yugoslavia or 1968 USA vs. 2008 USA), but I'm confident that after reviewing each team this is the best I could come up with. Some of you may agree with me, some may disagree. It's all subjective, so I'm interested in hearing the opinions of others.
1. Argentina
-2004 Olympic team
-2002 World Championship team
-2008 Olympic team
2. USA
-1992 Olympic team
-2008 Olympic team
-2003 Tournament of Americas team
3. Spain
-2006 World Championship team
-2008 Olympic team
-1984 Olympic team
4. Greece
-2005 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
-1987 Eurobasket team
5. Serbia
-1990 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
-1998 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
-2002 World Championship team (Yugoslavia)
6. Lithuania
-1992 Olympic team
-2003 Eurobasket team
-1996 Olympic team
7. Germany
-2005 Eurobasket team
-1993 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
8. Italy
-2004 Olympic team
-1999 Eurobasket team
-1983 Eurobasket team
9. Australia
-1994 World Championship team
-1996 Olympic team
-1988 Olympic team
10. China
-2008 Olympic team
-2004 Olympic team
-1996 Olympic team
11. Puerto Rico
-2004 Olympic team
-1990 World Championship team
-1994 Goodwill Games/World Championship team
12. Angola
-1992 Olympic team
-1996 Olympic team
-2006 World Championship team
13. Turkey
-2001 Eurobasket team
-2006 World Championship team
-1999 Eurobasket team
14. New Zealand
-2002 World Championship team
-2001 Oceania Championship team
-2004 Olympic team
15. Russia
-1988 Olympic team (Soviet Union)
-1985 Eurobasket team (Soviet Union)
-1994 World Championship team
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