Great Britain men's national basketball team
Great Britain 
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| FIBA ranking | 22  2 |
||
| Joined FIBA | 2005 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | British Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | Joe Prunty | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 2 | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 4 | ||
| Uniforms | |||
|
|||
The Great Britain men's national basketball team, known as Great Britain or GB, is the national team for Great Britain in basketball. The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national basketball organisations of England (Basketball England), Scotland (Basketballscotland) and Wales (Basketball Wales) on 1 December 2005 to provide a competitive team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Although Wales subsequently choose to remain independent, Scotland and England decided to continue with the formal merger. This structure also does not include the basketball association of Northern Ireland; Northern Irish players normally represent the Ireland national basketball team, though they are also eligible to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Summer Olympic Games.
British teams have rarely made an impact on the international scene, only featuring in two Olympic games, both of which were hosted in London (1948 and 2012). The team at the 1948 tournament only won one game (vs. Ireland) and at the 2012 tournament only won one game (vs. China). However, the England national basketball team did qualify for EuroBasket 1981, surprisingly winning the game against the elite team of Greece.
After London won the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the organisers wanted competitive teams at every sport, including basketball. The new Great Britain side was formed on 1 December 2005 from the existing teams from the UK. The new team secured the help of NBA's Chicago Bulls' star Luol Deng, and he led the team to promotion from EuroBasket Division B to Division A. FIBA had stated that Great Britain must prove their competitiveness prior to being granted the spot in the Olympic tournament that would normally be reserved for the host nation.
...
Wikipedia