Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, have fallen 11 places to 53rd in the latest FIBA world rankings.
The drop follows their quarter-final exit at the 2025 AfroBasket in Angola. Nigeria, who were ranked 42nd in March, also slipped from sixth to eighth in Africa, with 248.7 points compared to 297.8 earlier this year.
The team, coached by Mohammed Abdulrahman, had a mixed outing at the tournament. They topped Group B after beating Madagascar, Tunisia, and Cameroon, but lost 91-75 to Senegal in the quarter-finals. Caleb Agada, Josh Okogie, Stan Okoye, and Ike Nwamu were standout performers.
Nigeria now turn their attention to the FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifiers starting in November, as they aim to reach the 2027 edition in Qatar. The last time D’Tigers featured at the World Cup was in 2019 in China.
On the continent, South Sudan remain number one despite dropping to 24th globally. AfroBasket champions Angola rose to second in Africa and 29th in the world, while Ivory Coast, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Mali complete the top 10.
Globally, the USA lead with 845.8 points, followed by world champions Germany in second. Serbia, France, and Canada round out the top five.
