-
Basketball in Nigeria
Nigeria Basketball Players
-
Basketball in Nigeria
Africa's Champion
Basketball is one of the Nigerian favourite sports played by most schools and clubs in many states of Nigeria, although not as popular as soccer. Basketball in Nigeria has a lot of potentials that can produce some of world top players if the right things are put in place.
Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) is focused to help the growth of the game in Nigeria as other big teams in the world would come to Nigeria for the event. The federation was working closely with the sponsors of the league to get the best out of the player.
Men and women basketball league in Nigeria is also well organized in terms of league performance and schedules, although not comparable to what can be obtained in the United States of America. Nigeria basketball league is divided into National Division 1 and division 2 leagues.
Nigeria has produced numerous basketball players of which the most well-known ones are Hakeem Olajuwon (Formerly played for Houston Rockets) and also Emeka Okafor who also players in the NBA.
The Nigerian national basketball team is managed by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). It is mostly considered to be one of the best national basketball teams in the FIBA Africa zone; along with Angola and Senegal.
In the FIBA World Ranking, Nigeria will be ranked 16th after the 2016 Olympic Men’s Basketball Tournament in Rio which makes them the top in FIBA rankings from last year. They are the only African nation to certify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament; which was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the world elite teams of Lithuania and Greece. The Nigeria teams emerge the winner of basketball champion of Africa.
Nigeria has also participated in various championships and tournaments in the area of basketball sports, some of the competitions include but is not limited to;
