Men's national basketball team representing Finland
The
Finland men's national basketball team
(
Finnish
:
Suomen koripallomaajoukkue
,
Swedish
:
Finlands herrlandslag i basket
) represents
Finland
in international
basketball
competition. The national team is governed by
Basketball Finland
.
Finland has played in 17
EuroBasket
tournaments, with their best finish coming in sixth place at
EuroBasket 1967
, on home soil. Finland has appeared at the
Olympic Games
twice, in
1952
as
hosts
, and
1964
. Finland has also qualified for the
FIBA World Cup
twice, in
2014
and
2023
.
Since 2011, Finland has had the highest
FIBA World Ranking
among
Nordic countries
.
History
[
edit
]
Finnish national team during the
EuroBasket 1939
in Lithuania.
Finland playing against
Mexico
at the
1952 Helsinki Olympics
.
Finnish national basketball team in
1964 Tokyo Olympics
.
Jyrki Immonen (left) and national teammate
Teijo Finneman
in 1967.
Early years
[
edit
]
The Finnish Basketball Association was founded in February 1939. A few months earlier the Finnish Football Federation had decided to add basketball to its own repertoire.
Finland first competed at the
European championship
at its third installment, the
EuroBasket 1939
. In the round-robin, they initially struggled and lost to each of the other seven teams and finished with a 70?541 overall point differential.
1950s
[
edit
]
Finland's next European competition was 12 years later, at the
EuroBasket 1951
in Paris. Overall, they fared much better and split their four preliminary round games and finished at third place in the group at 2?2 but were eliminated from championship contention. They had success after that, winning all three of their classification round 1 games and both round 2 games to finish in 9th place of the 18 teams.
In 1952, by virtue of hosting the games in
Helsinki
, Finland played at the
Summer Olympics
for the first time. The national team finished at the bottom of Group B in the preliminary round losing all of its game to the
Soviet Union
,
Bulgaria
and
Mexico
, and failing to advance.
[2]
Finland used this international experience when they competed again at the
EuroBasket 1953
in
Moscow
. In the preliminary round, they finished with 1 win and 3 losses for 4th place of the 5 teams in the group. They fared significantly better in the first classification round, winning 3 and losing only 1 to finish in the middle of a three-way tie in the group. They lost both the 9?12 and 11/12 classification games, however, taking 12th place of 17 overall.
At the next event, Finland had some difficulty in the preliminary round of
EuroBasket 1955
. They lost all three early games in
Budapest
and were relegated to the classification round. Once again, not faced with the world elite opponents anymore, the Fins shone in the classification round and won all four of the pool play games. They won their classification 9?12 match as well, but lost to
France
in the 9/10 final to finish 10th of 18 in the tournament.
In
Sofia
, at the
EuroBasket 1957
, the Finns finished third in their preliminary group after going 1?2. They moved to the 9?16 classification pool and won five games there with only one loss. They took 11th place overall in the tournament.
Modern era
[
edit
]
Finland after defeating
France
at
EuroBasket 2017
.
At the
EuroBasket 1995
in Greece, was Finland's first qualification to the top European basketball tournament since
1977
. The national team did not fair too well at the event though. As they were routed in their first match against
Russia
126?74, and ultimately led to them finishing with an 0?6 record (13th place) and were eliminated.
Finland qualified for the
EuroBasket 2011
. The tournament berth was the first for Finland in 16 years. There they finished third out of six teams in
EuroBasket 2011 Group C
and defeated
Bosnia and Herzegovina
92?64 and
Montenegro
71?65. This allowed them to they qualify for the
EuroBasket 2011 Group F
. In their first match they were easily defeated by Russia but afterwards they defeated
Georgia
, before losing to
Slovenia
in their final match of the tournament. Despite not making it to the best of 8 tournament, Finland ended up making it to their first ever
FIBA World Cup
as a
wild card
team alongside
Greece
,
Turkey
, and
Brazil
.
Competitive record
[
edit
]
FIBA World Cup
[
edit
]
Olympic Games
[
edit
]
|
EuroBasket
[
edit
]
|
Results and fixtures
[
edit
]
Win
Loss
2023
[
edit
]
2024
[
edit
]
2025
[
edit
]
Team
[
edit
]
Current roster
[
edit
]
Roster for the
EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers
matches on 23 and 26 February 2024 against
Serbia
and
Denmark
.
[3]
Finland men's national basketball team roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
|
- Head coach
- Assistant coach(es)
- Legend
- (C)
Team captain
- Club
? describes last
club before the competition
- Age
? describes age
on 24 February 2024
|
Depth chart
[
edit
]
Head coach position
[
edit
]
Past rosters
[
edit
]
1939 EuroBasket
:
finished
8th
among 8 teams
3 Martti Salminen, 4 Kalevi Ihalainen, 5 Ilkka Torronen, 6 Erkki Saurala, 8 Pentti Vuollekoski, 9 Pauli Sarkkula, 10 Heinonen, 11 Erkki Linden, 12 Vladi Marmo, 13 Reino Valtonen, 14 Alo Suurna (Coach: Alois Suurna)
1951 EuroBasket
:
finished
9th
among 17 teams
3
Oiva Virtanen
, 4
Raimo Lindholm
, 5
Juhani Kyostila
, 6
Timo Suviranta
, 7
Pentti Laaksonen
, 8
Raine Nuutinen
, 9 Kalevi Sylander, 11
Arto Koivisto
, 12
Pertti Mutru
, 13
Kalevi Heinanen
, 14 Kaj Gustafsson, 15 Olli Arppe, 16 Allan Pietarinen, 17
Tapio Poyhonen
(Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1952 Olympic Games
:
finished
15th
among 23 teams
3
Juhani Kyostila
, 4
Raine Nuutinen
, 5
Raimo Lindholm
, 6
Timo Suviranta
, 7
Kalevi Heinanen
, 8
Pentti Laaksonen
, 9
Oiva Virtanen
, 10
Esko Karhunen
, 11
Eero Salonen
, 12
Pertti Mutru
, 13
Tapio Poyhonen
(Coach: Matti Simola)
1953 EuroBasket
:
finished
12th
among 17 teams
3
Timo Lampen
, 4
Raine Nuutinen
, 5
Raimo Lindholm
, 6
Timo Suviranta
, 7 Keijo Hynninen, 8
Kalevi Heinanen
, 9
Pentti Laaksonen
, 10
Oiva Virtanen
, 11
Eero Salonen
, 12 Kaj Gustafsson, 13
Pertti Mutru
, 14 Allan Pietarinen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1955 EuroBasket
:
finished
10th
among 18 teams
3
Timo Lampen
, 4
Raine Nuutinen
, 5
Raimo Lindholm
, 6
Timo Suviranta
, 7
Kalevi Heinanen
, 8
Oiva Virtanen
, 9
Eero Salonen
, 10 Kalevi Sylander, 11 Taisto Ravantti, 12
Seppo Kuusela
, 13 Asko Jokinen, 14
Pertti Mutru
, 15
Kalevi Tuominen
(Coach: Eino Ojanen)
1957 EuroBasket
:
finished
11th
among 16 teams
3
Timo Lampen
, 4
Raine Nuutinen
, 5
Raimo Lindholm
, 6
Timo Suviranta
, 7
Arvo Jantunen
, 8 Paavo Suhonen, 9 Juhani Kala, 10
Seppo Kuusela
, 11 Kalevi Sylander, 12
Eero Salonen
, 13
Pertti Mutru
, 14
Arto Koivisto
(Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1959 EuroBasket
:
finished
13th
among 17 teams
3 Matti Koli, 4
Timo Lampen
, 5 Pentti Palkoaho, 6 Matti Nenonen, 7
Raine Nuutinen
, 8
Raimo Lindholm
, 9
Arvo Jantunen
, 10 Kyosti Rousti, 11 Juhani Kala, 12
Seppo Kuusela
, 13
Eero Salonen
, 14
Raimo Vartia
(Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1961 EuroBasket
:
finished
14th
among 19 teams
4
Uolevi Manninen
, 5
Kari Liimo
, 6
Timo Lampen
, 7
Pertti Laanti
, 8 Lauri Nurma, 9
Martti Liimo
, 10 Tony Barlund, 11
Raimo Lindholm
, 12 Rauno Ailus, 13
Arvo Jantunen
, 14
Seppo Kuusela
, 15
Raimo Vartia
(Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1963 EuroBasket
:
finished
14th
among 16 teams
4
Uolevi Manninen
, 5
Kari Liimo
, 6
Timo Lampen
, 7
Pertti Laanti
, 8
Martti Liimo
, 9
Juha Harjula
, 10 Antero Siljola, 11 Rauno Ailus, 12
Kauko Kauppinen
, 13
Jorma Pilkevaara
, 14
Seppo Kuusela
, 15
Raimo Vartia
(Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1964 Olympic Games
:
finished
11th
among 16 teams
4
Uolevi Manninen
, 5
Kari Liimo
, 6
Timo Lampen
, 7
Pertti Laanti
, 8
Martti Liimo
, 9
Raimo Lindholm
, 10
Juha Harjula
, 11
Risto Kala
, 12
Kauko Kauppinen
, 13
Jorma Pilkevaara
, 14
Teijo Finneman
, 15
Raimo Vartia
(Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1965 EuroBasket
:
finished
12th
among 16 teams
4
Uolevi Manninen
, 5
Kari Liimo
, 6
Timo Lampen
, 7
Pertti Laanti
, 8
Martti Liimo
, 9 Kari Lahti, 10 Hannu Paananen, 11
Jorma Pilkevaara
, 12 Kari Ronnholm, 13 Lars Karell, 14
Teijo Finneman
, 15 Jyrki Immonen (Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1967 EuroBasket
:
finished
6th
among 16 teams
4
Veikko Vainio
, 5
Kari Liimo
, 6
Uolevi Manninen
, 7
Pertti Laanti
, 8
Martti Liimo
, 9 Kari Lahti, 10 Kari Ronnholm, 11 Lars Karell, 12
Jorma Pilkevaara
, 13
Olavi Ahonen
, 14
Teijo Finneman
, 15 Jyrki Immonen (Coach:
Kalevi Tuominen
)
1977 EuroBasket
:
finished
10th
among 12 teams
4 Kalevi Sarkalahti 5 Heikki Kasko, 6 Tapio Sten, 7 Heikki Taponen, 8 Antti Zitting, 9 Risto Lignell, 10 Raimo Mantynen, 11 Anssi Rauramo, 12 Mikko Koskinen, 13 Klaus Mahlamaki, 14 Jarmo Laitinen, 15 Erkki Saaristo (Coach: Robert Petersen)
1995 EuroBasket
:
finished
13th
among 14 teams
4 Martti Kuisma, 5
Hanno Mottola
, 6
Pekka Markkanen
, 7 Sakari Pehkonen, 8 Jarkko Tuomala, 9 Markku Larkio, 10 Riku Marttinen, 11 Mika-Matti Tahvanainen, 12 Juha Luhtanen, 13 Jyri Lehtonen, 14 Kari-Pekka Klinga, 15 Petri-Mikael Niiranen (Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2011 EuroBasket
:
finished
9th
among 24 teams
4
Mikko Koivisto
, 5
Antti Nikkila
, 6
Kimmo Muurinen
, 7
Shawn Huff
, 8
Gerald Lee
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 10
Tuukka Kotti
, 11
Petteri Koponen
,
12
Vesa Makalainen
, 13
Hanno Mottola
(C)
, 14
Petri Virtanen
, 15
Teemu Rannikko
(Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2013 EuroBasket
:
finished
9th
among 24 teams
4
Mikko Koivisto
, 5
Antti Nikkila
, 6
Kimmo Muurinen
, 7
Shawn Huff
, 8
Gerald Lee
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 10
Tuukka Kotti
, 11
Petteri Koponen
,
12
Samuel Haanpaa
, 13
Hanno Mottola
(C)
, 14
Roope Ahonen
, 15
Teemu Rannikko
(Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2014 FIBA World Cup
:
finished
22nd
among 24 teams
[4]
4
Mikko Koivisto
, 5
Erik Murphy
, 6
Kimmo Muurinen
, 7
Shawn Huff
, 8
Gerald Lee
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 10
Tuukka Kotti
, 11
Petteri Koponen
,
12
Matti Nuutinen
, 13
Hanno Mottola
(C)
, 14
Antero Lehto
, 15
Teemu Rannikko
(Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2015 EuroBasket
:
finished
16th
among 24 teams
4
Mikko Koivisto
, 7
Shawn Huff
(C)
, 8
Gerald Lee
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 10
Tuukka Kotti
, 11
Petteri Koponen
, 12
Matti Nuutinen
,
21
Ville Kaunisto
, 24
Joonas Caven
, 30
Roope Ahonen
, 31
Jamar Wilson
, 33
Erik Murphy
(Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2017 EuroBasket
:
finished
11th
among 24 teams
[5]
4
Mikko Koivisto
, 7
Shawn Huff
(C)
, 8
Gerald Lee
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 10
Tuukka Kotti
, 11
Petteri Koponen
, 12
Matti Nuutinen
,
15
Teemu Rannikko
, 22
Carl Lindbom
, 23
Lauri Markkanen
, 31
Jamar Wilson
, 33
Erik Murphy
(Coach:
Henrik Dettmann
)
2022 EuroBasket
:
finished
7th
among 24 teams
[6]
1
Miro Little
, 7
Shawn Huff
(C)
, 9
Sasu Salin
, 11
Petteri Koponen
, 14
Henri Kantonen
, 18
Mikael Jantunen
, 19
Elias Valtonen
,
20
Alexander Madsen
, 21
Edon Maxhuni
, 23
Lauri Markkanen
, 35 Ilari Seppala, 41
Topias Palmi
(Coach:
Lassi Tuovi
)
2023 FIBA World Cup
:
finished
21st
among 32 teams
[7]
1
Miro Little
, 5
Alex Murphy
, 9
Sasu Salin
(C)
, 13
Olivier Nkamhoua
, 14
Henri Kantonen
, 18
Mikael Jantunen
, 19
Elias Valtonen
,
20
Alexander Madsen
, 21
Edon Maxhuni
, 23
Lauri Markkanen
, 34
Jacob Grandison
, 35 Ilari Seppala (Coach:
Lassi Tuovi
)
Manufacturer
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Videos
[
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]
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Non-affiliated
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Defunct
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