The DR Congo national basketball team ( French: Équipe nationale de basketball de Congo DR) represents

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

in men's international

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

competitions, it is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Democratic Republic of Congo. () The team has appeared in the

FIBA Africa Championship The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa, played once every four years. ...

, but has yet to appear in the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

. Its biggest success to date was the Final Four placement at the 1975 FIBA Africa Championship when it competed as Zaire.

History

DR Congo joined the

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

in 1963 and made their first tournament debut twelve years later, during the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

AfroBasket. In the following year, they played in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

AfroBasket The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa Africa is the world's s ...

championship. Congo ended in the fourth place after a 2–3 record. After a 6th place in 1980, the team missed the tournament for the next 27 years. During

AfroBasket 2007 AfroBasket 2007 was the 24th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body of the African zone. The tournament was hosted by Angola, in the cities of Beng ...

, DR Congo returned and finished 15th. After another 10-year absence, the country played in the

AfroBasket 2017 FIBA AfroBasket 2017 was the 29th edition of the AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was jointly hosted by Tunisia and Senegal. Angola was proposed by FIBA Africa to host the tournament, an offer decl ...

where they reached the quarter-finals after upsetting

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in the group phase. In August 2022, Jonathan Kuminga joined the Congolese team to become the first

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) player to play for the national team. Kuminga had just won his first

NBA champion The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Easter ...

ship with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

Performances

FIBA Basketball World Cup

DR Congo has never appeared in the

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's globa ...

, but has played in the qualifying rounds.

AfroBasket

Fourth place

FIBA AfroCan

Champions Fourth place

Team

Current roster

''Roster in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers of August 27, 2022.''

Head coaches

Notable eligible players

Top scorers

The following players were the DR Congo's top scorers in their

tournaments:

References

External links

FIBA profileAfricabasket – DR Congo Men National Team
{{National sports teams of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

1963 establishments in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)