About Lithuania Basketball

The Lithuania men's national basketball team (Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinė vyrų krepšinio rinktinė) participates in FIBA's competitions. Despite Lithuania's small size, with a population of almost 2.8 million, the country's devotion to basketball has made them a traditional force of the sport in Europe.

The Lithuanian 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 in the first three Olympics to include NBA players – 1992, 1996, and 2000 - in addition to finishing fourth in 2004 and 2008, and in eighth place at the London 2012 Olympics. The Lithuanian team won the FIBA EuroBasket for the third time in 2003, and also a bronze medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.