FIBA Basketball World Cup records explained

FIBA Basketball World Cup records are the records attained throughout the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

General performances

Performances of host countries

From 1959 to 1982, the host qualified directly to the final round, thus bypassing the preliminary round (group stages). As a result, the host's final rank would no worse than the number of teams in the final round (between six and eight); however, from 1986 the host was made to compete in the preliminary round.

However, the success rate of hosts winning the tournament is rather low (14%, 3 of 18), as compared to the FIFA World Cup's success rate of 22% (6 of 21); furthermore, no host has won the championship since Yugoslavia won in 1970, and only one host since then has won any type of medal (Turkey with a silver medal in 2010).

Year	Host country	When hosting		Better when hosting?	When not hosting
Year	Host country	Performance	Stage	Better when hosting?	Performance	Stage
		Champions	Final round (1st of 6)	Yes	Runner-up	Final
		Runner-up	Final round (2nd of 8)	No	Champions	Final round (1st of 7)
		Third place	Final round (3rd of 7)	No	Third place	Final round (3rd of 6)
		Champions	Final round (1st of 7)	No	Champions	Final round (1st of 7)
		Seventh place	Final round (7th of 7)	No	Third place	Final round (3rd of 7)
		Champions	Final round (1st of 7)	No	Champions	Final
		Seventh place	Final round (7th of 8)	No	Fourth place	Semifinals
		Eighth place	Final round (8th of 8)	No	Third place	Final round (3rd of 7)
		Seventh place	Final round (7th of 7)	colspan="3"
		Fifth place	5th-place playoffs	No	Champions	Final
		Eighth place	Second round (4th of 4)	No	Runner-up	Final
		Seventh place	5th-place playoffs	No	Third place	Final round (3rd of 8)
		Fourth place	Semifinals	No	Runner-up	Final
		Sixth place	Quarterfinals	No	Champions	Final
		Seventeenth place	Preliminary round (5th of 6)	No	11th place	Classification round (4th of 6)
		Runner-up	Final	Yes	Sixth place	Quarterfinals
		Fifth place	Quarterfinals	No	Champions	Final
		Twenty-fourth place	Preliminary round (3rd of 4)	No	Eighth place	7th place classification game
		Twenty-fourth place	Preliminary round (4th of 4)	No	Third place	Final round (3rd of 7)
		colspan="2"		colspan="2"
		Nineteenth place	Preliminary round (3rd of 4)	No	Eleventh place	Classification round (4th of 6)
					Twenty-first place	Preliminary round (6th of 6)

By top four finishes

Rank	Nation	Number of appearances	Years in semifinals
1.		15	(1950, 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2023)
2.	/	10	(1963, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002)
3.		8	(1950, 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1978, 1986)
3.		8	(1963, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990)
5.		4	(1950, 2002, 2006, 2019)
6.		3	(1954, 2014, 2019)
		3	(1994, 1998, 2006)
		3	(1982, 2006, 2019)
		3	(2010, 2014, 2023)
9.		2	(1950, 1959)
		2	(1970, 1978)
		2	(2010, 2014)
		2	(1994, 1998)
		2	(2002, 2023)
14.		1	(1954)
		1	(1959)
		1	(1974)
		1	(1990)
		1	(1994)
		1	(2002)
		1	(2010)
		1	(2019)
		1	(2023)

Most Valuable Players

See main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup Most Valuable Player. ^[1]

width=40	Year	width=200	MVP	width=180	National Team












		FR Yugoslavia

Top scorer by tournament

Points per game

See main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup Top Scorer. ^[2] ^[3]

Total points scored

FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team

See main article: FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Tournament Team.

All-time top cumulative points scorers

^[4] ^[5]

	Player	Games Played	Points Scored	Scoring Average
1.		34	906	26.7
2.		41	716	17.5
3.		29	594	20.5
4.		35	563	16.1
5.		33	511	15.5
6.	Marcel De Souza	37	494	13.6
7.		25	491	19.7
8.		24	482	20.1
9.		41	474	11.6
10.		26	469	18.0
11.		33	462	14.0
12.		27	447	16.6
13.		25	444	17.8
14.		31	437	10.7
15.	Amaury Pasos	33	434	13.2
15.		18	434	24.1

All time highest scoring averages

^[6]

	Games Played	Points Scored	Scoring Average
1.	10	337	33.7
2.	8	261	32.6
3.	8	216	27.0
4.	34	906	26.7
5.	7	177	25.3
6.	7	172	24.6
7.	18	434	24.1
8.	18	425	23.6
9.	7	164	23.4
10.	5	115	23.0	-	10.	14	320	22.9
11.	9	205	22.8-->

Player must have played at least 5 games to appear in this statistic

Games with most overtimes

^[7]

Rivals	Extra Periods	Ref.
103–108	3	^[8] ^[9]
95–88	2	^[10] ^[11]
94–93		^[12] ^[13]
89–87		^[14] ^[15]
81–82		^[16] ^[17]
79–86		^[18] ^[19]
43–46		^[20] ^[21]

Age records

Oldest

^[22] ^[23]

	Player	Year	Birthdate	Age *
1.			1979 1, df=yes
2.			1983 5, df=yes
3.			1983 11, df=yes
4.			1980 3, df=yes
5.			1975 4, df=yes
6.			1980 4, df=yes
7.			1984 7, df=yes
8.			1963 10, df=yes
9.			1975 12, df=yes
10.			1971 12, df=yes
11.			1985 2, df=yes
12.			1968 2, df=yes
13.			1981 3, df=yes
14.			1981 3, df=yes
15.			1985 4, df=yes
16.			1985 5, df=yes
17.			1976 6, df=yes

Youngest

^[24]

	Player	Year	Birthdate	Age *
1.			1970 4, df=yes
2.			1993 11, df=yes
3.			2006 9, df=yes
4.			1969 4, df=yes
5.			1989 3, df=yes
6.			1985 1, df=yes
7.			1984 9, df=yes

describes age on first day of the tournament

Game score records

Biggest game score

^[25]

	Year	Round	Rivals	Team score
1.		Preliminary Round	154 - 97	154
2.		Preliminary Round	146 - 67	146
3.		Final Round	76 - 143	143
4.		Preliminary Round	140 - 48	140
5.	1990	Preliminary Round	138 - 95	138

Lowest game score

^[26]

	Year	Round	Rivals	Team score
1.		Final Round	19 - 38	19
2.	1950	Repass Round I	40 - 24	24
3.	1950	Preliminary Round I	33 - 27	27
3.	1950	Final Round	27 - 59	27
5.	1950	Final Round	31 - 28	28
5.		Final Round	72 - 28	28

Biggest margin

^[27]

	Year	Round	Rivals	Margin points
1.		Preliminary Round	140 - 48	92
2.		Preliminary Round	128 - 38	90
3.		Preliminary Round	146 - 67	79
4.	1986	Preliminary Round	131 - 61	70
5.		Final Round	76 - 143	67

Top scorers in a single game

^[28]

Player	Points Scored	Opponent	Year
	54		1990
	53		1986
	52		1990
	48		1990
	47		2006
	47		1986
	45		1986
	44		1978
	42		1963
	42		1974

Players with the most tournaments and games played

^[29]

Number of World Cups	Games Played	Years played	Ref.
5	41	1963, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1978	^[30] ^[31] ^[32]
	41	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[33] ^[34]
	37	1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990	^[35] ^[36] ^[37] ^[38]
	37	2006, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2023	^[39] ^[40] ^[41]
	36	1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994	^[42] ^[43]
	36	1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002	^[44] ^[45]
	32	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[46]
	30	1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[47]
	29	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[48] ^[49]
	28	2006, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2023	^[50] ^[51] ^[52] ^[53]
	27	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[54]
	25	1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[55]
	23	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[56] ^[57]
4	35	1974, 1978, 1982, 1986	^[58]
	35	1978, 1982, 1986, 1990	^[59]
	34	1978, 1982, 1986, 1990	^[60]
	34	1994, 1998, 2002, 2006	^[61]
	33	1954, 1959, 1963, 1967	^[62] ^[63]
		1982, 1986, 1990, 1994	^[64] ^[65] ^[66]
		1990, 1994, 1998, 2002	^[67] ^[68]
		2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[69]
	32	1986, 1990, 1994, 1998	^[70]
		1998, 2002, 2006, 2010	^[71] ^[72]
		2006, 2010, 2014, 2019	^[73] ^[74]
	31	1954, 1959, 1963, 1970	^[75] ^[76]
	31	1967, 1970, 1974, 1978	^[77] ^[78]
	29	1982, 1986, 1990, 1994	^[79]
		1986, 1990, 1994, 1998	^[80]
		1986, 1990, 1994, 1998	^[81]
	28	1967, 1970, 1974, 1978	^[82] ^[83]
	27	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[84] ^[85]
	26	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[86] ^[87]
	23	2002, 2006, 2010, 2014	^[88]
	19	2010, 2014, 2019, 2023	^[89] ^[90]

Top medalists

^[91]

Gold Medals	Silver Medals	Bronze Medals	Total Medals
2 (1970, 1978)	2 (1967, 1974)	0	4
2 (1959, 1963)	2 (1954, 1970)	0	4
2 (1959, 1963)	1 (1954)	1 (1967)	4
2 (1967, 1974)	1 (1978)	1 (1970)	4
2 (1959, 1963)	1 (1970)	0	3
2 (1990, 2002)	0	1 (1986)	3
2 (1959, 1963)	0	1 (1967)	3
2 (1967, 1974)	0	1 (1970)	3
2 (1967, 1974)	0	1 (1970)	3
2 (1998, 2002)	0	0	2
2 (2010, 2014)	0	0	2
2 (1998, 2002)	0	0	2
2 (2006, 2019)	0	0	2
2 (2006, 2019)	0	0	2
2 (2010, 2014)	0	0	2
2 (2010, 2014)	0	0	2
2 (1998, 2002)	0	0	2
2 (1959, 1963)	0	0	2

Players with the most total medals won

Gold Medals	Silver Medals	Bronze Medals	Total Medals
2 (1970, 1978)	2 (1967, 1974)	0	4
2 (1959, 1963)	2 (1954, 1970)	0	4
2 (1959, 1963)	1 (1954)	1 (1967)	4
2 (1967, 1974)	1 (1978)	1 (1970)	4
1 (1982)	3 (1978, 1986, 1990)	0	4
1 (1963)	1 (1970)	2 (1967, 1978)	4
1 (1978)	1 (1974)	2 (1982, 1986)	4

Highest attendance

Rank	Year	Venue	Round	Match	Source
1		Philippine Arena, Bocaue	Preliminary round	v	^[92]
2	1994	SkyDome, Toronto	Final	v

All-time team records

,,,,

Team	Games played	Wins	Losses		Points for	Points against	Point differential	Best finish
	166	134	32	.807	14,764	12,055	+2,709	5 x winners
	145	87	58	.600	11,733	10,921	+812	2 x winners
	78	58	20	.744	6,591	5,847	+744	5 x winners
	112	65	47	.580	8,998	8,537	+461	1 x winners
	80	66	14	.825	7,141	5,652	+1,489	3 x winners
	105	74	31	.705	8,948	7,868	+1,080	2 x winners
	115	45	70	.391	9,130	9,220	−90	Third place
	103	43	60	.417	8,112	8,382	−270	Final round
	49	31	18	.633	4,047	3,821	+226	1 x winners
	82	47	35	.573	6,607	6,307	+300	Final round
	93	44	49	.473	7,541	7,652	−111	Fourth place
	66	38	28	.576	5,234	5,102	+132	Runners-up
	70	18	52	.257	5,733	6,678	−945	Round of 16
	50	17	33	.340	3,309	3,690	−381	Final round
	68	37	31	.544	4,620	4,618	+2	Third place
	39	25	14	.641	3,083	2,943	+140	Runners-up
	35	18	17	.514	2,772	2,751	+21	Final round
	56	16	40	.286	4,166	4,680	−514	Round of 16
	51	10	41	.196	4,016	4,902	−886	Preliminary round
	30	17	13	.567	2,713	2,618	+95	Final round
	49	33	16	.673	3,975	3,637	+338	Third place
	45	14	31	.311	3,351	3,914	−563	Third place
	47	8	39	.170	3,103	3,867	−764	Final round
	58	40	18	.690	5,045	4,306	+739	Runners-up
	40	19	21	.475	2,988	3,085	−97	Final round
	38	24	14	.632	3,005	2,883	+122	Runners-up
	42	17	25	.405	3,323	3,640	−317	Fourth place
	27	10	17	.370	1,565	1,671	−106	Final round
	25	9	16	.360	2,089	2,232	−143	Preliminary round
	36	8	28	.222	2,440	2,914	−474	Preliminary round
	19	9	10	.474	1,025	1,069	−44	Third place
	19	7	12	.368	1,262	1,440	−178	Final round
	18	7	11	.389	982	1,077	−95	Fourth place
	20	12	8	.600	1,637	1,449	+188	Third place
	30	17	13	.567	2,500	2,480	+20	Seventh place
	28	8	20	.286	2,222	2,467	−245	Preliminary round
	28	4	24	.143	1,919	2,330	−411	Round of 16
	27	2	25	.074	1,910	2,419	−509	Preliminary round
	20	5	15	.250	1,460	1,869	−409	Preliminary round
	16	7	9	.438	1,225	1,195	+30	Round of 16
	13	3	10	.231	733	953	−220	Preliminary round
	9	5	4	.556	532	512	+20	Final round
	17	8	9	.471	1,285	1,320	−35	Final round
	23	9	14	.391	1,782	1,954	−172	Round of 16
	5	2	3	.400	422	405	+17	Preliminary round
	5	2	3	.400	222	232	−10	Preliminary round
	5	2	3	.400	382	397	−15	Preliminary round
	20	4	16	.200	1,345	1,564	−219	Preliminary round
	5	2	3	.400	344	369	−25	Preliminary round
	10	3	7	.300	767	857	−90	Preliminary round
	15	1	14	.067	1,082	1,403	−321	Preliminary round
	10	3	7	.300	677	793	−116	Preliminary round
	5	2	3	.400	379	407	–28	Preliminary round
	8	6	2	.600	714	636	+78	Fifth place
	5	3	2	.600	456	431	+25	Preliminary round
	8	4	4	.500	662	651	+11	Sixth place
	10	4	6	.400	767	796	–29	Preliminary round
	5	1	4	.200	395	476	−81	Preliminary round
	5	1	4	.200	366	432	–66	Preliminary round
	5	0	5	.000	310	456	−146	Preliminary round
	5	0	5	.000	313	539	−226	Preliminary round
	6	0	6	.000	473	656	−183	Preliminary round
	7	0	7	.000	477	757	−280	Preliminary round
Total	1,213 games				190,787 points

Defunct country
Source:^[93]
Update after 2023 World Cup

Notes and References

https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/MVPTLE/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Most Valuable Player.
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/TSEE/_//index.html Top scorer of each FIBA Basketball World Cup.
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/p/cid/WMM/fromseason//lid_38132_cp/1/q/World%20Championship%20for%20Men/rpp//toseason//_//events.html World Championship for Men.
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/ATTS/_//index.html FIBA Archive - All time top scorers (Top 10).
http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/news/luis-scola-climbs-to-second-place-in-the-all-time-scoring-list All time top scorers
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/ATHSA/_//index.html FIBA Archive - All time highest scoring average (Top 10).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/GWMO/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Games with most overtimes (Top 5).
Web site: Fiba archive Boxscore. fiba.com.
Web site: game ANG - GER. linguasport.com.
Web site: semi-finals 2019. fiba.com.
Web site: game SPA - AUS. linguasport.com.
Web site: boxscore 1970. fiba.com.
Web site: game BRA - ITA. linguasport.com.
Web site: boxscore 2002. fiba.com.
Web site: game PUR - ANG. linguasport.com.
Web site: boxscore 2010. fiba.com.
Web site: game SRB - GER. linguasport.com.
Web site: boxscore 1967. fiba.com.
Web site: game PUR - JPN. linguasport.com.
Web site: boxscore 1950. fiba.com.
Web site: game YUG - PER. linguasport.com.
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/OP/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Oldest player (Top 5).
https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/news/2023-world-cup-who-are-the-youngest-oldest-tallest-shortest-players Oldest and Youngest
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/YP/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Youngest player (Top 10).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/BGS/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Biggest game score (Top 5).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/LGS/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Lowest game score (Top 5).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/BM/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Biggest margin (Top 5).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/MPSG/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Most points scored in a game (Top 10).
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/MPGP/_//index.html FIBA Archive - Most participations & games played (Top 10).
Web site: Fiba archive players. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Maciel Pereira. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1963. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Scola. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2002. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Souza. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Ramon de Souza. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Marcel Ponickwar. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1974. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Fernandez. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba player Fernandez. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba players Fernandez. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Smyth. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1978. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Mincy. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1986. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Garcia. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Santiago. fiba.com.
Web site: Barbosa, Garcia and Varejao: The special feeling of playing in five World Cups. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba players Varejão. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Huertas. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba players Huertas. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba player Huertas. fiba.com.
Web site: Century mark: Huertas reaches 100 World Cup assists milestone. fiba.com.
Web site: Barbosa, Garcia and Varejao: The special feeling of playing in five World Cups. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Machado. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Mingas. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2019. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Dalipagić. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Belostenny. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive player Schmidt. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Wolkowyski. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Pasos. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1954. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Jiménez. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Fernández. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1982. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive player Ortiz-Rijos. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1990. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive player Navarro. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Milanesio. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Oberto. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1998. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players M.Gasol. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2006. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Marques. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1959. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Belov. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1967. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Borner. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Gaze. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Vianna. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Ćosić. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 1970. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Penney. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2010. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Splitter. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2014. linguasport.com.
Web site: Fiba archive players Reyes. fiba.com.
Web site: Fiba players Haddadi. fiba.com.
Web site: Squads 2023. linguasport.com.
https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/2/cid/WMM/rc/ATTM/_//index.html FIBA Archive - All time medallist (Top 10).
News: Li . Matthew . Gilas vs Dominicana shatters all-time FIBA WC attendance record . 25 August 2023 . Tiebreaker Times . 25 August 2023.
Web site: Men World Championship: Event statistics . 2014-05-31 . The-Sports.org.