XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Kresimir Cosic of Yugoslavia (blue shirt) vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia
The
International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations:
Argentina,
Czechoslovakia,
Greece,
Italy,
Latvia,
Portugal,
Romania and
Switzerland. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, in French, was thus FIBA; the "A" standing for amateur.
Basketball was first included in the
Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in
Munich in
1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first
FIBA World Championship for men was held in
Argentina. Three years later, the first
FIBA World Championship for Women was held in
Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, with teams such as Brazil and
Australia rivaling the
American squads.
FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of their
Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in
Indianapolis, behind
Yugoslavia,
Argentina,
Germany,
New Zealand and
Spain. In the
2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to
Puerto Rico and
Lithuania in group games. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and
Italy. (It should be noted, however, that of the twelve players originally selected by the NBA, only
Tim Duncan and
Allen Iverson chose to play; the rest of the team was put together from second and third choices.)
Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all over the globe can be found in NBA teams.
Steve Nash, who won the 2005 and 2006
NBA MVP award, is
Canadian;
Kobe Bryant is an
American who spent much of his childhood in
Italy;
Dallas Mavericks superstar
Dirk Nowitzki is
German; All-Star
Pau Gasol of the
Memphis Grizzlies is from
Spain;
2005 NBA Draft top overall pick
Andrew Bogut of the
Milwaukee Bucks is
Australian;
2006 NBA Draft top overall pick
Andrea Bargnani of the
Toronto Raptors is from
Italy; and the
San Antonio Spurs feature Tim Duncan of the
U.S. Virgin Islands,
Manu Ginobili of
Argentina (like
Chicago Bulls player
Andrés Nocioni) and
Tony Parker of
France. (Duncan competes for the United States internationally, as the Virgin Islands did not field a basketball team for international competition until well after Duncan started playing internationally, and all U.S. Virgin Islands natives are United States citizens by birth.)
The all-tournament teams at the two most recent
FIBA World Championships, held in
2002 in
Indianapolis and
2006 in
Japan, demonstrate the globalization of the game equally dramatically. Only one member of either team was American, namely
Carmelo Anthony in 2006. The 2002 team featured Nowitzki, Ginobili,
Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia (now of
Serbia),
Yao Ming of
China, and
Pero Cameron of New Zealand. Ginobili also made the 2006 team; the other members were Anthony, Gasol, his
Spanish teammate
Jorge Garbajosa and
Theodoros Papaloukas of
Greece. The only players on either team to never have joined the NBA are Cameron and Papaloukas.
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