Montenegro men's national basketball team

Lore & Background

Montenegro entered international competition in 2008 under coach Duško Vujošević, starting in FIBA Division B and winning first place in their first season. The team won 13 official games in a row until losing to Israel in August 2010. NBA players Nikola Vučević and Nikola Peković became the most known players of the national team during this period. Montenegro qualified for EuroBasket 2011 under coach Dejan Radonjić, finishing with one win and four losses. In 2012, with new coach Luka Pavićević, Montenegro won all 10 qualifier matches for EuroBasket 2013, including a notable 73–71 victory over Serbia in Belgrade decided by a Nikola Ivanović three-point shot at the buzzer. At EuroBasket 2013, they achieved two wins and three losses but did not advance. The team failed to qualify for EuroBasket 2015, finishing third in their qualifying group.

Reader's Guide

Montenegro's national basketball team represents a small nation that has consistently competed at high levels since its independence in 2006. Under coach Bogdan Tanjević, Montenegro won gold at the 2015 Games of the Small States of Europe and qualified for EuroBasket 2017, where they reached the knockout stage for the first time—their biggest success to that point. In 2019, under coach Zvezdan Mitrović, Montenegro qualified for the FIBA World Cup for the first time, becoming the smallest state by population and territory to do so since the competition's establishment. The team has appeared at the World Cup twice (2019, 2023) and at EuroBasket five times (2011, 2013, 2017, 2022, 2025). Notable players include Nikola Vučević, who appeared on multiple tournament rosters, and Bojan Dubljević, who captained the team in later years. The team's longest winning streak is 13 matches, and their largest home victory was 102–58 against Iceland in 2009.

Did You Know?

• Montenegro joined FIBA in 2006 after restoring its independence.
• Montenegro became the smallest state by population and territory to qualify for the FIBA World Cup in 2019.
• The team's largest away victory was 37–100 against San Marino in 2017.