Demokratická republika Kongo
Wikipedia - DR Congo men's national basketball team
The DR Congo national basketball team (French: Équipe nationale de basketball de Congo DR) represents DR Congo in men's international basketball competitions, it is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Democratic Republic of Congo. (French: République démocratique du Congo Fédération de basket-ball)
The team has appeared in the FIBA Africa Championship, but has yet to appear in the FIBA World Championship. 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 in 1963 and made their first tournament debut twelve years later, during the 1974 AfroBasket. In the following year, they played in the 1975 AfroBasket 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, DR Congo returned and finished 15th.
After another 10-year absence, the country played in the AfroBasket 2017 where they reached the quarter-finals after upsetting Nigeria in the group phase.
In August 2022, Jonathan Kuminga joined the Congolese team to become the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to play for the national team. Kuminga had just won his first NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors.
Kongo - Kinshasa je součástí zóny FIBA Afrika a účastní se mistrovství Afriky v basketbalu, AfroBasketu. Tým zaznamenal několik úspěchů, včetně zisku bronzové medaile na AfroBasketu 1975 a 1985.
Mezi prominentní hráče týmu patří:
* Dikembe Mutombo - jeden z nejlepších defenzivních hráčů v historii NBA, čtyřnásobný obránce roku
* Serge Ibaka - hráč NBA, šestinásobný all-star
* Bismack Biyombo - hráč NBA, známý svými obrannými schopnostmi
Kongo - Kinshasa je silným basketbalovým týmem v Africe a má potenciál dosáhnout dalších úspěchů na mezinárodní scéně.