The Ivory Coast men's national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Ivory Coast in international competition. The team competes regularly in the African Championship and is administered by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball.FIBA National Federations – Cote d'Ivoire, fiba.com. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
With two AfroBasket titles and six overall finals appearances, the country is traditionally home to one of the continent's finest basketball national teams. The Elephants have played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup five times and also played in the 2023 edition.
History Early AfroBasket Success (1968–1985) After a 5th place finish at the FIBA Africa Championship 1968 in Morocco, the Ivory Coast national basketball team rose to prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Côte d’Ivoire reached the final of the FIBA Africa Championship in 1978 and 1980, finishing as runners-up to Senegal on both occasions.
First AfroBasket titles In 1981, Côte d’Ivoire captured their first continental title, defeating the Egypt in the championship game. Four years later, while hosting the 1985 AfroBasket in Abidjan, they claimed a second title after beating the Angola.
Return to the World Stage (2009–2019) AfroBasket 2009 silver After years outside of the spotlight, Côte d’Ivoire finished second at AfroBasket 2009, their first podium finish since 1985.
2010 FIBA World Championship The result qualified the team for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, their first FIBA Basketball World Cup appearance since 1986. Côte d’Ivoire finished with a 1–4 record, but celebrated a historic milestone by defeating the Puerto Rico 88–76 in their final group game — the nation’s first-ever World Cup victory.
Dramatic Qualification for 2019 World Cup In the final round of African qualifiers, Côte d’Ivoire needed to win their last three games by a combined margin of 66 points in order to qualify as the best-ranked third-placed team. Against the odds, they surpassed that mark with a total margin of 73 points.
A decisive moment came in their 72–46 victory over the Nigeria, one of Africa’s strongest squads. Combined with a loss for the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire clinched qualification ahead of Cameroon.
2019 World Cup Campaign At the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Côte d’Ivoire competed in Group A alongside China, Poland and Venezuela.
Later years (2020–present) AfroBasket Resurgence and Near Miss (2021) Côte d’Ivoire advanced to the AfroBasket 2021 final held in Rwanda, marking the first time they reached the championship game since AfroBasket 2009. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Senegal 75–65, powered by a dominant double-double from Matt Costello (17 points, 12 rebounds), contributions from Vafessa Fofana and Nisre Mimi Zouzoua, and a strong bench performance by Souleyman Diabaté scoring 14 points.
In the final, Côte d’Ivoire narrowly lost to the Tunisia 78–75, as Tunisia retained their title. Souleyman Diabaté was a standout for the Ivorians, scoring a game-high 22 points.
2025 AfroBasket Campaign: Qualifying Dominance Côte d’Ivoire entered the AfroBasket 2025 qualifiers with authority, posting a perfect 6–0 record. Notable victories against the Egypt in Cairo and Madagascar demonstrated their preparation and ambition.
In the main tournament scheduled for August 2025 in Angola, Côte d’Ivoire competes in the group phase with fixtures against Rwanda, Cape Verde, and DR Congo.
Competitive record FIBA World Cup FIBA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1963 did not qualifyAfroBasket served as qualification 1967 1970 1974 1978 1982Classification round13th707 1986Preliminary round23rd505 1990did not qualify 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010Preliminary round21st514 2014did not qualify 2019Classification round29th5051275 202327th51412102 2027To be determinedIn progress 2031To be determinedTotal5/182722524177
FIBA Africa Championship Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place YearRoundPosition 1962 did not enter 1964 1965 1968 Seventh place 7th 7 4 3 1970 did not qualify 1972 Tenth place 10th 6 1 5 1974 did not qualify 1975 1978 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 2 1980 2nd 7 5 2 1981 Champions 1st 7 6 1 1983 Fourth place 4th 6 3 3 1985 Champions 1st 7 6 1 1987 Classification stage 7th 5 2 3 1989 5th 7 4 3 1992 Preliminary round 11th 5 1 4 1993 Classification stage 6th 5 2 3 1995 7th 5 3 2 1997 8th 5 1 4 1999 Eight place 8th 6 2 4 2001 Classification stage 8th 6 2 4 2003 Eleventh place 11th 6 2 4 2005 Classification stage 10th 7 3 4 2007 Quarterfinals 8th 6 2 4 2009 Runners-up 2nd 9 5 4 2011 Fourth place 4th 8 3 5 2013 4th 7 5 2 2015 Round of 16 12th 5 2 3 2017 Preliminary round 14th 3 0 3 2021 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1 2025 Quarter-finals 7th 4 3 1Total25/31 151 76 75
FIBA AfroCan Runners-up YearRoundPosition 2019 Tenth place 10th 3 0 3 2023 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 1 2027 QualifiedTotal 9 54
African Games
1978 – 1987 – 2003 – 4th 2007 – 6th 2011 – 8th 2015 – 7th
Team Current roster Team for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket.
Notable players Other current notable players from Ivory Coast:
Past rosters Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Team for the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.
Head coaches Jean-Claude Kouadio – Late 1970s Kouassi Germain (1981) Vladislav Lučić: (1981–1983) Alphonse Bilé (1985) Georges S. Bamba – 1980s Tanguy E. Guel – 1990s Gérard Sol – 2000–2006 Jacques Monclar: (2007) Randoald Dessarzin: (2009, 2010) Christophe Denis: (2012) Natxo Lezkano: (2011, 2013,Head coaches, fiba.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013. 2015, 2024) Dejan Prokic (a.i.): (August 2022) Miguel Ángel Hoyo: (2025)
Kit Manufacturer Peak2015 FIBA Africa Championship – Cote d'Ivoire, FIBA.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
See also Ivory Coast national under-19 basketball team Ivory Coast national under-17 basketball team Ivory Coast women's national basketball team Ivory Coast national 3x3 team
References
External links
FIBA profile Cote d'Ivoire Basketball Records at FIBA Archive
Videos ANG – CIV | Basketball Highlights – #FIBAWC 2023 Qualifiers Youtube.com video