| Country: | Afghanistan |
| Fiba Ranking: | 77 |
| Joined Fiba: | 1968 |
| Fiba Zone: | FIBA Asia |
| Zone Appearances2: | 2 (first in 2006) |
| Zone Medals2: | None |
| Zone Appearances3: | 1 (first in 2010) |
| H Body: | ff0000 |
| H Shorts: | ff0000 |
| H Pattern S: | _whitesides |
| A Pattern B: | _whitesides |
| A Body: | 000 |
| A Shorts: | 000 |
| A Pattern S: | _redsides |
The Afghanistan men's national basketball team is the men's national basketball team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan National Basketball Federation.[1] [2] [3] [4] Afghanistan joined FIBA and became a member of FIBA Asia in 1968. Afghanistan won the 2010 South Asian Games, becoming the first sports team to win gold in the nation's history.[5]
Basketball was first played in Afghanistan in 1936. In 1966, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee (ANOC) founded the first national basketball team after receiving challenges from India and Pakistan. Tom Gouttierre, an American Peace Corps volunteer and coach of the team at Habibia High School, became the first coach. Using detailed, confidential instructions from John Wooden, the Afghanistan team became the only other to run the famous UCLA zone press.
Although the international games were canceled, in 1969 Gouttierre returned on a Fulbright Fellowship and again became the Habibia coach, and in 1970 Bill Bradley of the New York Knicks tutored the team while visiting the country. That year China challenged the ANOC. Because of the lack of preparation time, Gouttierre decided that current and former Habibia players were the best choice for a second Afghanistan national team. Using the zone press, it defeated a much larger Chinese team in Parwan Province in the Afghanistan team's first international victory.[6]
Afghanistan has failed to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup, while as well as only entering in the qualification rounds only once in 2013 when they entered in the South Asian Basketball Association Qualifying Round. Afghanistan would defeat Nepal before losing to India and failing to qualify for the Asia Cup. This is their only appearance in FIBA Asia Cup qualification rounds to date.
Afghanistan has made two brief appearance in the Asian Games in 2006 and 2010. Both times the men's national team would struggle for success and failing to qualify outside the first round in both years respectively. The 2010 edition would be marked as the last time Afghanistan has played any competitive men's national teams games.
Afghanistan would see their best success in international competition in the form of the 2010 edition of the South Asian Games. They would defeat India and claim gold in what has been their only appearance in the South Asian Games to date.
See main article: Basketball at the Summer Olympics.
| width=125 | Year | width=90 | Position | width=35 | width=35 | width=35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Not a FIBA member | ||||||||
 1948 | |||||||||
 1952 | |||||||||
 1956 | |||||||||
 1960 | |||||||||
 1964 | |||||||||
| Did not enter | |||||||||
| 1972 | |||||||||
 1976 | |||||||||
| 1980 | |||||||||
 1984 | |||||||||
 1988 | |||||||||
 1992 | |||||||||
| 1996 | |||||||||
| 2000 | |||||||||
| 2004 | |||||||||
 2008 | |||||||||
| 2012 | |||||||||
 2016 | |||||||||
| 2020 | |||||||||
 2024 | |||||||||
| Total | 0/21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
See main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup.
| width=125 | Year | width=90 | Position | width=35 | width=35 | width=35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1950 | Not a FIBA member | ||||||||
| 1954 | |||||||||
| 1959 | |||||||||
| 1963 | |||||||||
| 1967 | |||||||||
| Did not enter | |||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||
 1982 | |||||||||
| 1986 | |||||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||
| 1994 | |||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||
| 2002 | |||||||||
| 2006 | |||||||||
 2010 | |||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||
| 2019 | |||||||||
 2023 | |||||||||
 2027 | |||||||||
| Total | 0/20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
See main article: FIBA Asia Cup.
| width=125 | Year | width=90 | Position | width=35 | width=35 | width=35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Not a FIBA member | ||||||||
| 1963 | |||||||||
| 1965 | |||||||||
| 1967 | |||||||||
 1969 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1971 | |||||||||
| 1973 | |||||||||
| 1975 | |||||||||
| 1977 | |||||||||
| 1979 | |||||||||
 1981 | |||||||||
 1983 | |||||||||
| 1985 | |||||||||
| 1987 | |||||||||
| 1989 | |||||||||
| 1991 | |||||||||
| 1993 | |||||||||
| 1995 | |||||||||
| 1997 | |||||||||
| 1999 | |||||||||
| 2001 | |||||||||
| 2003 | |||||||||
| 2005 | |||||||||
| 2007 | |||||||||
| 2009 | |||||||||
| 2011 | |||||||||
| 2013 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2015 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 2017 | |||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||
| 2025 | |||||||||
| Total | 0/31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
See also: Basketball at the Asian Games.
See main article: Basketball at the South Asian Games.
| width=125 | Year | width=90 | Position | width=35 | width=35 | width=35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Not part of SAOC until 2004 | ||||||||
| 1991 | |||||||||
| 1995 | |||||||||
| 2010 | bgcolor=gold | ? | ? | ? | |||||
| 2019 | Left SAOC in 2016 | ||||||||
| Total | 0/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Head Coach:* Mamo Rafiq – 2007-now
Assistant Coach: *
Abdul Wasi Pazhman - 2010
Assistant Coach: *
Leo Balayon - 2009
The following twelve players were named to the roster for the 2010 Asian Games.