Norway men's national basketball team

The Norway men's national basketball team (Norwegian: Norges herrelandslag i basketball) represents Norway in international basketball tournaments. The national team is administered by the Norwegian Basketball Federation.

Norway
FIBA ranking81 Decrease 2 (26 November 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA1968
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationNBBF
CoachMatthias Eckhoff
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
AppearancesNone
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances2
MedalsSilver Silver: (1996, 2018)
First international
 Norway 50–63 Denmark 
(Oslo, Norway; 11 February 1967)
Biggest win
 San Marino 48–88 Norway 
(Serravalle, San Marino; 26 June 2018)
Biggest defeat
 Iceland 123–59 Norway 
(Reykjavík, Iceland; 15 April 1968)

Norway has never had great success on the international stage in the past. They are one of the few European countries to date to have never qualified for one of the top international basketball competitions, such as the EuroBasket or the FIBA World Cup.

History

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Norway's first international match was played on 11 February 1967 in Oslo, where the team lost 50–63 to Denmark.[2] The most capped player is Torgeir Bryn, with 111 caps.

In the past, Norway has attempted to qualify for the EuroBasket several times, but have yet to reach the tournament. They have only entered the Olympic basketball qualification twice, for the 1980, and 1988 Olympic Games. Norway is one of Europe's most populous nations to have never qualified for a major international basketball competition. However, they have competed at smaller events such as the European Championship for Small Countries.

The Road to Revival (2012–2017)

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In 2012, financial troubles led the Norwegian Basketball Federation to shut down both the men's and women's national teams. The federation simply did not have the funds to keep either the men's or women's teams afloat. Since then, however, the federation has come to realize just how many people from the athletes and teams, to individuals and companies care about the Norwegian basketball community and are willing to provide financial support. The federation also worked to raise money through sponsorships, and eventually signed a major sponsorship agreement with Circle K, in addition to a few smaller sponsors.[3]

Norway's return (2018–present)

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In 2018, Norway made its return to FIBA competition by playing at the European Championship for Small Countries. The national team finished as the runners-up after losing 75–59 in the final against Malta.[4]

In 2021, Norway joined the EuroBasket 2025 qualification.

Competitive record

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Results and fixtures

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  Win   Loss

2023

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19 July 2023 Norway   86–80   Bulgaria Asker, Norway
19:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 27–18, 19–8, 18–33
Pts: Frey 27
Rebs: Ndow 8
Asts: Frey 4
Boxscore Pts: Miller-McIntyre 20
Rebs: Alipiev 7
Asts: P. Ivanov 9
Arena: Varner Arena
Attendance: 1,950
Referees: Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Michał Proc (POL), Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU)
26 July 2023 Austria   85–66   Norway Schwechat, Austria
18:30 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 25–15, 24–12, 21–15, 15–24
Pts: Vujošević 21
Rebs: four players 6
Asts: Güttl 5
Boxscore Pts: Ndow 21
Rebs: Kolstad 7
Asts: Espe 5
Arena: Multiversum
Attendance: 1,350
Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Martin Vulić (CRO), Ariadna Chueca (ESP)
29 July 2023 Bulgaria   91–69   Norway Botevgrad, Bulgaria
18:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 20–14, 30–20, 24–17, 17–18
Pts: Kostadinov 19
Rebs: Kostadinov 9
Asts: Miller-McIntyre 13
Boxscore Pts: Kolstad 12
Rebs: Sjölund 6
Asts: Frey 8
Arena: Arena Botevgrad
Attendance: 2,000
Referees: Yener Yılmaz (TUR), Josip Jurčević (CRO), Vladimir Jevtović (SRB)
5 August 2023 Norway   84–74   Austria Asker, Norway
18:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 19–23, 22–18, 21–16
Pts: Ndow 29
Rebs: Berg, Ndow 9
Asts: Kolstad 4
Boxscore Pts: Güttl 15
Rebs: Lohr 8
Asts: Ersek, Vujošević 5
Arena: Varner Arena
Attendance: 2,100
Referees: Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Armin Mutapčić (GER)

2024

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25 February 2024 Luxembourg   58–72   Norway Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
17:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 9–24, 23–19, 20–8, 6–21
Pts: Rugg 22
Rebs: Vujaković 10
Asts: Rugg 3
Boxscore Pts: Frey 23
Rebs: Berg 10
Asts: Frey 6
Arena: d'Coque
Attendance: 1,800
Referees: Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Armin Mutapcic (GER), Martin van Hoye (BEL)
21 November 2024 Norway   62–75   Romania Oslo, Norway
19:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 20–26, 18–17, 12–12, 12–20
Pts: Frey 21
Rebs: Ndow 11
Asts: Frey 5
Boxscore Pts: Olah 16
Rebs: Cățe 13
Asts: Tohătan 5
Arena: Nordstrand Arena
Attendance: 2,200
Referees: Elvis Binders-Čoders (LAT), Jan Baloun (CZE), Karol Kowalski (POL)

2025

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Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Pre-Qualifiers match on 21 November 2024 against Romania.[5][6][7]

Norway men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
F/C 1 Andrija Blatančić 29 – (1995-11-13)13 November 1995 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Dubrovnik  
PG 3 Lars Espe 26 – (1998-09-26)26 September 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Fyllingen  
F 5 Chris-Ebou Ndow 30 – (1993-12-10)10 December 1993 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Cholet  
PG 7 Harald Frey 27 – (1997-05-27)27 May 1997 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Bilbao  
G/F 8 Bouna Ndiaye 32 – (1992-10-22)22 October 1992 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Fyllingen  
G 11 Stian Mjøs (C) 35 – (1989-02-27)27 February 1989 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Bærum  
F/C 20 Ludvik Bergseng 18 – (2006-09-28)28 September 2006 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Manresa  
F 22 Sjur Berg 28 – (1996-01-10)10 January 1996 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Bærum  
F 25 Hallvard Staff 22 – (2002-06-18)18 June 2002 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Gimle  
G/F 31 Tobias Rotegård 24 – (2000-05-08)8 May 2000 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Kongsberg Miners  
F 32 Kristian Sjölund 25 – (1999-09-10)10 September 1999 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Ulm  
PF 35 Haakon Ullrich 25 – (1998-11-26)26 November 1998 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Gimle  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 21 November 2024

Depth chart

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Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Sjur Berg Erik Borg Marcus Larsson
PF Karamo Jawara Johannes Dolven Axel Borg
SF Chris-Ebou Ndow Kristian Sjølund Jørgen Odfjell
SG Bouna Ndiaye Mikkel Kolstad Tobias Rotegård
PG Harald Frey Stian Mjøs Lars Espe

Head coach position

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Notable players

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  • Torgeir Bryn – the first Scandinavian, and the only Norwegian who has played in the NBA; and the most capped player for the Norway national basketball team with 111 matches.

Past rosters

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2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries: finished 2nd   among 7 teams[8]

Norway men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 4 Magnus Midtvedt 28 – (1990-04-07)7 April 1990 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Centrum  
PG 5 Harald Frey 21 – (1997-05-27)27 May 1997 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Montana State  
G 6 Stian Berg 27 – (1991-04-04)4 April 1991 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Asker  
PG 7 Lars Espe 19 – (1998-09-26)26 September 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Barry Buccaneers  
G/F 8 Bouna Ndiaye 25 – (1992-10-20)20 October 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) GET Vosges  
G 9 Nikolas Skouen 28 – (1990-01-29)29 January 1990 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Frøya  
F 10 Karamo Jawara 27 – (1991-06-25)25 June 1991 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Palma  
G 11 Stian Mjøs 29 – (1989-02-27)27 February 1989 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Bærum  
G/F 12 Eivind Lamo 21 – (1996-10-23)23 October 1996 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Gimle  
G/F 13 Alex Dakin 25 – (1993-01-02)2 January 1993 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Bærum  
F 14 Sjur Berg 22 – (1996-01-10)10 January 1996 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Alaska Anchorage  
F/C 15 Johannes Dolven 22 – (1996-05-11)11 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Barry Buccaneers  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 26 June 2018

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  2. ^ "55-årsjubileum mot Danmark". basket.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Norway returns to international basketball". norwegianamerican.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Norway at the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  5. ^ "20 spillere får sjansen". basket.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Har valgt ut sine 12". basket.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Norway during the 2027 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers in November 2024". Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Norway at the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries". Retrieved 1 July 2018.
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