Germany national basketball team

The German national basketball team for men is the basketball side that represents Germany in international competitions. Their biggest successes are the victory in the European Championship of 1993 at home in Germany, the silver medal in the 2005 European Championships and the bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

History

The team is the successor of the West Germany national basketball team, the basketball side that represented West Germany in international competition. Between 1955 and 1973, Germany temporarily competed with an East German national basketball team as well.

Eurobasket 1951

The first German presence in the European basketball championships was at Eurobasket 1951 in Paris. West Germany finished the preliminary round with a 1–2 record, third place in their group. They were again 1–2 in the first classification round, but this combined with a three-way tie-breaker put them second in that group. They then lost the classification 9–12 and 11/12 games to finish 12th place of 18 teams.

Eurobasket 1953

West Germany competed again at the Eurobasket 1953 in Moscow. Their 1–2 record in preliminary pool play put them third in their four-team group, relegating them to the classification rounds. In the first round, they again took 3rd of 4 with a 1–2 record. They then beat Lebanon 58–56 in the 13–16 semifinals to advance to the 13/14 game, in which they were defeated by Romania.

Eurobasket 1955

At Eurobasket 1955 in Budapest, West Germany again was 1–2 in the preliminary round, taking third place of the four-team group to be relegated to the classification tournament. They won one game in the first classification round, losing 3 to take fifth place of the five-team group despite having scored exactly as many points as their opponents over the course of the four games. Their final game was a match-up against Denmark for 17th place, which West Germany won 51–49.

Eurobasket 1957

West Germany competed in Sofia for Eurobasket 1957. They had no success in the preliminary round, losing all three decisions. They were relegated to the classification round, in which they were able to gather a few victories. They finished the round in the fifth position at 3–4, taking 13th place overall.

After German reunification

Until the German reunification in 1990, the team played as the West Germany national basketball team. (Basketball was not a popular sport in East Germany). In decades of competitive basketball, West Germany never had much success, partly also because in that time, the NBA made it near-impossible for German internationals to play on both their NBA teams and the national team. For this reason, important players like Detlef Schrempf, Uwe Blab or Christian Welp often were unavailable in big tournaments.

The win of the 1993 European Championship at home in Germany, thanks to superb clutch play of tournament MVP Welp (who had returned from the USA), came totally unexpected. The team won the election to "Team of the Year" by the German press. There was a huge wave of enthusiasm, but arguably due to lack of infrastructure and professionalism, tangible results were rare. German basketball stayed in the shadows, the next generation of youth shunning the native league while being glued to the NBA with Michael Jordan. The national team never came close to repeat the success.

But then, German basketball got a lucky break when a lanky youth named Dirk Nowitzki tried his luck with the Dallas Mavericks and became a superstar. He created new enthusiasm for basketball in Germany, and in his slipstream, the national team had a renaissance.

In 2001, Germany played Turkey and was one second away from the final, when Turkey nailed a buzzer beater to send the game into overtime. Turkey won, and demoralized Germany lost the third-place match and ended fourth.

However, success at last came in 2002, when Nowitzki inspired Germany to win the bronze medal in the 2002 World Championships. Nowitzki was also named MVP of that tourney.

One year later, however, the team suffered its worst setback in years. In the Eurobasket 2003, which was also the qualifier for the 2004 Olympic Games, the talented, but inexperienced team blundered through a tournament, blowing late-game leads with appalling anti-clutch play. Germany was eliminated early and failed to qualify for the Olympics.

Before the Eurobasket 2005 expectations were not too high. The German roster was depleted by injury, and remembering the disaster of two years ago, nobody dared to dream of a medal. However, an inspired Dirk Nowitzki powered the team into the finals, eliminating favourites like Spain and Slovenia on its way. In the finals the team was blown out by Greece, but Nowitzki was named MVP again, and the team won the election to "Team of the Year" by the German press again.

In the 2006 World Championship in Saitama, Germany won most of its first-round matches, only losing to Spain. In the knock-out phase, Germany fought a tough match versus underdogs Nigeria, ending in a 78–77 win when Nigerian star Ime Udoka missed a last-second layup. In the quarter-finals, Germany played top favorite USA, and managed to play an excellent first half, trailing only 39–41. However, led by Carmelo Anthony, USA outplayed Germany 20–8 in the third quarter and won 65–85. In the consolation round, Germany lost 73–75 against France, losing a lead in the last 18 seconds with two turnovers.

Germany qualified for the Summer Olympics 2008 in Beijing, by taking the final spot with the third place in the qualification tournament in Athens, Greece.

Notes

In Germany, professional basketball is known for developing players whose parents or grandparents are immigrants. The national team routinely uses many players who have family roots in Africa, Eastern Europe, United States or others, but have grown up in Germany, speak fluent German and are native Germans by law. The last point is especially important, as the new FIBA rules prevent the use of more than one "naturalized" citizen per country. Famous examples of these allochtonous players are:

• African-German: Stephan Arigbabu, Misan Nikagbatse, Ademola Okulaja, Marvin Willoughby
• American-German: Shawn Bradley, Robert Garrett, Stefano Garris, Demond Greene, Chris Kaman, Elias Harris
• Canadian-German: Michael Jackel
• Croatian-German: Stipo Papić, Dražan Tomić
• Polish-German: Konrad Wysocki
• Serbian-German: Marko Pešić
• Turkish-German: Teoman Öztürk, Mithat Demirel

While most German players develop through the club system, several players over the years have played U.S. college basketball. Past and present national team players who have done so include:

• Gunther Behnke — Kentucky
• Uwe Blab — Indiana
• Shawn Bradley — BYU
  • Bradley qualified for Germany by his birth in the country; however, he was raised in Utah, making a college basketball career a natural progression.
• Hansi Gnad— Alaska-Anchorage (Division II Program)
• Elias Harris — Gonzaga
• Johannes Herber — West Virginia
• Jan-Hendrik Jagla — Penn State
• Jens Kujawa — Illinois
• Alexander Kühl — UNC Charlotte
• Christopher McNaughton — Bucknell
• Kai Nürnberger — Southern Illinois
• Ademola Okulaja — North Carolina
• Henrik Rödl — North Carolina
• Detlef Schrempf — Washington
• Julian Sensley — Hawaii
  • He was born and raised in the U.S., qualifying for Germany through his birth to a German mother.
• Lucca Staiger — Iowa State
• Christian Welp — Washington

Notable players

Centers

• Gunther Behnke
• Uwe Blab – former NBA player
• Shawn Bradley – former NBA player; American with dual citizenship through jus sanguinis
• Patrick Femerling
• Hansi Gnad
• Chris Kaman – current NBA-Player; American with dual citizenship, born and raised in the U.S., qualifying for German citizenship through jus sanguinis
• Jens Kujawa
• Christian Welp – former NBA player; hit the winning free throw (completing a 3-point-play) in the 1993 Eurobasket final, and named 1993 Eurobasket MVP
• Tibor Pleiß – current Oklahoma City Thunder center

Forwards

• Stephen Arigbabu
• Dirk Nowitzki – current NBA star, 2011 NBA Champion, 2011 NBA Finals MVP, 2007 NBA MVP, MVP of the World Championships 2002 and the Eurobasket 2005
• Henning Harnisch – currently Team Manager of Alba Berlin
• Mike Jackel
• Ademola Okulaja – former player at North Carolina
• Detlef Schrempf – the first German NBA star, former player at Seattle SuperSonics

Guards

• Mithat Demirel
• Michael Koch – currently Head Coach of Telekom Baskets Bonn
• Kai Nürnberger
• Denis Wucherer
• Henrik Rödl – former player at North Carolina and Alba Berlin

Roster

Depth chart

Recent call-ups

Competitions

Performance at Summer Olympics

Performance at FIBA World Championships

Performance at Eurobasket

Performance at Supercup

Head Coach history

source^[1]

Past rosters

As Germany

1936 Olympic Games: finished 17th among 21 teams

Hans Niclaus, Emil Goring, Kurt Oleska, Bernhard Cuiper, Karl Endres, Emil Lohbeck, Heinz Steinschulte, Otto Kuchenbecker, Siegfreid Reischiess, Robert Duis (Coach: Hugo Murero)

As West Germany

1951 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 17 teams

Rudolf Beyerlein, Wolfgang Heinker, Rudi Hohner, Franz Kronberger, Willi Leissler, Harald Muller, Gunter Piontek, Oskar Roth, Theodor Schober, Kurt Siebenhaar, Arthur Stolz, Markus Bernhard, Diefenbach, Konz (Coach: Theo Clausen)

1953 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 17 teams

Kurt Siebenhaar, Theodor Schober, Richard Mahrwald, Gunter Piontek, Friedrich Mahlo, Hans Bayer, Hartmut Kruger, Oskar Roth, Rolf Heinker, Gerd Konzag, Rudolf Beyerlein, Richard Griese, Markus Bernhard (Coach: Anton Kartak)

1955 EuroBasket: finished 17th among 18 teams

Oskar Roth, Kurt Siebenhaar, Theodor Schober, Harald Muller, Rudolf Beyerlein, Arthur Stolz, Richard Griese, Friebel, Brehm, Vogt, Waldowski, Schmitt, Pfeiffer (Coach: Anton Kartak)

1957 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 16 teams

Oskar Roth, Horst Stein, Hans Brydniak, Gerhard Biller, Arthur Stolz, Richard Griese, Klaus Schulz, Lamade, Ottmar, Peter, Scherer, Vogt, Waldowski (Coach: Theodor Vychodil)

1961 EuroBasket: finished 16th among 19 teams

Klaus Weinand, Klaus Schulz, Hannes Neumann, Jurgen Langhoff, Hans Gruttner, Volker Heindel, Horst Stein, Oskar Roth, Gerhard Biller, Hans Brydniak, Arthur Stolz (Coach: Branimir Volfer)

1965 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams

Klaus Urmitzer, Dietmar Kienast, Hannes Neumann, Bernd Roder, Klaus Weinand, Harald Jungnickel, Klaus Schulz, Jorg Kruger, Neef, Niedlich, Sarodnik, Wolfram (Coach: Yakovos Bilek)

1971 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 12 teams

Helmut Uhlig, Dieter Pfeiffer, Jurgen Loibl, Gerd Brand, Rainer Pethran, Jochen Pollex, Klaus Urmitzer, Holger Geschwindner, Jurgen Wohlers, Dietrich Keller, Norbert Thimm (Coach: Theodor Schober)

1972 Olympic Games: finished 12th among 16 teams

Helmut Uhlig, Klaus Weinand, Dieter Kuprella, Karl Ampt, Hans-Jorg Kruger, Rainer Pethran, Jochen Pollex, Joachim Linnemann, Holger Geschwindner, Jurgen Wohlers, Dietrich Keller, Norbert Thimm (Coach: Theodor Schober)

1981 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 12 teams

Klaus Zander, Hans-Gunther Ludwig, Joseph Waniek, Sebastian Brunnert, Matthias Strauss, Jorg Heidrich, Michael Pappert, Volkert Asshoff, Holger Arpe, Lutz Wadehn, Armin Sowa, Ingo Mendel (Coach: Terry Schofield)

1983 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 12 teams

Detlef Schrempf, Klaus Zander, Uwe Blab, Gunther Behnke, Christoph Korner, Frank Hudson, Uwe Brauer, Matthias Strauss, Ulrich Peters, Michael Pappert, Armin Sowa, Lutz Wadehn (Coach: Chris Lee)

1984 Olympic Games: finished 8th among 12 teams

Detlef Schrempf, Uwe Blab, Klaus Zander, Christian Welp, Christoph Korner, Vladimir Kadlec, Uwe Brauer, Uwe Sauer, Ulrich Peters, Michael Pappert, Armin Sowa, Ingo Mendel (Coach: Ralph Klein)

1985 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 12 teams

Detlef Schrempf, Uwe Blab, Michael Jackel, Christian Welp, Gunther Behnke, Stephan Baeck, Ulrich Peters, Christoph Korner, Uwe Sauer, Armin Sowa, Lutz Wadehn, Burkhard Schroder (Coach: Ralph Klein)

1986 World Championship: finished 16th among 24 teams

Gunther Behnke, Christian Welp, Michael Koch, Hansi Gnad, Ralf Risse, Armin Andres, Jan Villwock, Rainer Greunke, Holger Arpe, Armin Sowa, Lutz Wadehn, Burkhard Schroder (Coach: Ralph Klein)

1987 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 12 teams

Gunther Behnke, Michael Jackel, Michael Koch, Christian Welp, Hansi Gnad, Henning Harnisch, Sven Meyer, Armin Andres, Christoph Korner, Jens Kujawa, Michael Pappert, Lutz Wadehn (Coach: Ralph Klein)

As Germany

1992 Olympic Games: finished 7th among 12 teams

Detlef Schrempf, Uwe Blab, Henning Harnisch, Gunther Behnke, Hansi Gnad, Kai Nurnberger, Henrik Rödl, Stephan Baeck, Michael Jackel, Jens Kujawa, Armin Andres, Arndt Neuhaus (Coach: Svetislav Pešić)

1993 EuroBasket: finished 1st among 16 teams

Christian Welp, Henning Harnisch, Hansi Gnad, Michael Koch, Gunther Behnke, Kai Nurnberger, Henrik Rödl, Stephan Baeck, Michael Jackel, Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, Teoman Öztürk, Jens Kujawa (Coach: Svetislav Pešić)

1994 World Championship: finished 12th among 16 teams

Henning Harnisch, Gunther Behnke, Hansi Gnad, Michael Koch, Sascha Hupmann, Kai Nurnberger, Henrik Rödl, Patrick King, Oliver Herkelmann, Arndt Neuhaus, Detlef Musch, Mike Knorr (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

1995 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 14 teams

Christian Welp, Ademola Okulaja, Michael Koch, Henrik Rödl, Hansi Gnad, Ingo Freyer, Kai Nurnberger, Patrick King, Teoman Öztürk, Denis Wucherer, Detlef Musch, Mike Knorr (Coach: Vladislav Lučić)

1997 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

Henning Harnisch, Sascha Hupmann, Patrick Femerling, Ademola Okulaja, Vladimir Bogojevic, Henrik Rödl, Tim Nees, Jorg Lutcke, Alexander Kuhl, Denis Wucherer, Gerrit Terdenge, Jurgen Malbeck (Coach: Vladislav Lučić)

1999 EuroBasket: finished 7th among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Drazan Tomič, Patrick Femerling, Vladimir Bogojevic, Ademola Okulaja, Henrik Rödl, Kai Nurnberger, Denis Wucherer, Tim Nees, Jorg Lutcke, Gerrit Terdenge, Stephen Arigbabu (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2001 EuroBasket: finished 4th among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Bradley, Drazan Tomič, Ademola Okulaja, Patrick Femerling, Robert Garrett, Stipo Papić, Marko Pešić, Mithat Demirel, Stephen Arigbabu, Stefano Garris, Marvin Willoughby (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2002 World Championship: finished 3rd among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Femerling, Ademola Okulaja, Henrik Rödl, Marko Pešić, Mithat Demirel, Robert Maras, Stefano Garris, Misan Nikagbatse, Pascal Roller, Stephen Arigbabu, Jorg Lutcke (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2003 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Femerling, Ademola Okulaja, Steffen Hamann, Mithat Demirel, Robert Maras, Marko Pešić, Sven Schultze, Stefano Garris, Jorg Lutcke, Misan Nikagbatse, Stephen Arigbabu (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2005 EuroBasket: finished 2nd among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Femerling, Robert Garrett, Marko Pešić, Robert Maras, Pascal Roller, Mithat Demirel, Demond Greene, Misan Nikagbatse, Denis Wucherer, Stephen Arigbabu, Sven Schultze (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2006 World Championship: finished 8th among 24 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Ademola Okulaja, Patrick Femerling, Robert Garrett, Steffen Hamann, Pascal Roller, Jan-Hendrik Jagla, Mithat Demirel, Sven Schultze, Johannes Herber, Demond Greene, Guido Grunheid (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2007 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 16 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Patrick Femerling, Ademola Okulaja, Robert Garrett, Jan-Hendrik Jagla, Steffen Hamann, Pascal Roller, Mithat Demirel, Stephen Arigbabu, Johannes Herber, Demond Greene, Guido Grunheid (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2008 Olympic Games finished 10th among 12 teams

Tim Ohlbrecht, Philip Zwiener, Sven Schultze, Robert Garrett, Konrad Wysocki, Steffen Hamann, Demond Greene, Pascal Roller, Chris Kaman, Patrick Femerling, Dirk Nowitzki, Jan Jagla (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2009 EuroBasket finished 11th among 16 teams

Tim Ohlbrecht, Elias Harris, Sven Schultze, Tibor Pleiss, Konrad Wysocki, Steffen Hamann, Demond Greene, Lucca Staiger, Heiko Schaffartzik, Patrick Femerling, Robin Benzing, Jan Jagla (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2010 World Championship: finished 17th among 24 teams Tim Ohlbrecht, Elias Harris, Per Günther, Tibor Pleiss, Christopher McNaughton, Steffen Hamann, Demond Greene, Lucca Staiger, Heiko Schaffartzik, Philipp Schwethelm, Robin Benzing, Jan Jagla (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

2011 EuroBasket finished among 24 teams

Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman, Jan-Hendrik Jagla, Tim Ohlbrecht, Sven Schultze, Steffen Hamann, Robin Benzing, Heiko Schaffartzik, Tibor Pleiss, Lucca Staiger, Johannes Herber, Philipp Schwethelm (Coach: Dirk Bauermann)

See also

• Germany women's national basketball team
• National Basketball Games Of Germany

External links

• (German) Official page, with news and profiles

References