Ivory Coast men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ivory Coast women's national basketball team.

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.^[2]

Côte d'Ivoire

FIBA ranking	31 1 (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1961
FIBA zone	FIBA Africa
National federation	Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball
Coach	Natxo Lezkano
Nickname(s)	Les Éléphants (The Elephants)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	5
AfroBasket
Appearances	24
Medals	Gold (1981, 1985) Silver (1978, 1980, 2009, 2021)
AfroCan
Appearances	2
Medals	Silver (2023)
Home Away

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 four times and also played in the 2023 edition.

History

Ivory Coast reached the final of the FIBA Africa Championship for the first time in 1978, but they were defeated by Senegal in the final. They reached the final again in the following tournament, in 1980, but again had to settle for silver, as Senegal took the gold. Another run the following year, in 1981, saw Côte d'Ivoire finally break through and win their first title, as they defeated Egypt for the championship. Four years later, Côte d'Ivoire won their second championship, as they hosted the tournament in 1985, and beat Angola, to win the championship. Côte d'Ivoire finished second at the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship, for their first podium finish since their victory in 1985. They participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, which was their first FIBA World Cup appearance since 1986. The team went 1–4 at the tournament, finishing last in Group C. On 2 September 2010, In their final group game, the Ivorians defeated Puerto Rico 88–76, for their first ever FIBA World Cup win, but they came up just short in the tiebreaker to see which team would advance to the knockout stage.^[3]

Ivory Coast qualified for the 2019 FIBA World Championship in dramatic and extraordinary circumstances. After only narrowly avoiding elimination in the first qualifying round (they finished 3rd in their group and only qualified because they held the tiebreaker to Mozambique), they needed to win their last three games in the final group by a combined margin of 66 points in order to qualify as the best-ranked third-placed team. They remarkably did so (actually, they won by a combined 73 points), dispatching even African powerhouses and already-qualified Nigeria by a score of 72–46 in the process. Combined with a loss for the Central African Republic against Nigeria, Ivory Coast finished third in the group and qualified for the World Championship by virtue of a better total points difference than Cameroon.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

FIBA World Cup record							Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L		GP	W	L
1963	did not qualify						AfroBasket served as qualification
1967
1970
1974
1978
1982	Classification round	13th	5	0	5
1986	Preliminary round	23rd	5	0	5
1990	did not qualify
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010	Preliminary round	21st	5	1	4
2014	did not qualify
2019	Classification round	29th	5	0	5		12	7	5
2023	Classification round	27th	5	1	4		12	10	2
2027	To be determined						To be determined
	5/17		25	2	23		24	17	7

FIBA Africa Championship

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
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	Runners-up	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	Classification stage	5th	7	4	3
1992	Preliminary round	11th	5	1	4
1993	Classification stage	6th	5	2	3
1995	Classification stage	7th	5	3	2
1997	Classification stage	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	Fourth place	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	to be determined
Total			147	73	74

FIBA AfroCan

  Runners-up

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
2019	Tenth place	10th	3	0	3
2023	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	1
Total			9	5	4

African Games

See also: Basketball at the African Games

• 1978 –
• 1987 –
• 2003 – 4th
• 2007 – 6th
• 2011 – 8th
• 2015 – 7th

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.^[4][5]

Ivory Coast men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. PG 0 Assémian Moularé 20 – (2003-01-21)21 January 2003 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Vichy-Clermont SF 1 Charles Abouo 33 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Le Portel PG 2 Bazoumana Kone 29 – (1993-12-13)13 December 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Karlsruhe Lions PF 3 Amadou Sidibé 29 – (1994-03-25)25 March 1994 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Peñarol SF 4 Patrick Tapé 25 – (1998-06-08)8 June 1998 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) Caledonia Gladiators SG 7 Maxence Dadiet 24 – (1999-03-02)2 March 1999 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Toulouse F 8 Mike Fofana 25 – (1997-10-05)5 October 1997 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) ABC Fighters PG 10 Solo Diabate 36 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Petro de Luanda SF 12 Vafessa Fofana 31 – (1992-06-12)12 June 1992 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Gravelines-Dunkerque C 23 Cédric Bah (C) 29 – (1994-05-11)11 May 1994 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Vichy-Clermont SG 45 Nisre Zouzoua 27 – (1996-07-16)16 July 1996 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Aix Maurienne SF 77 Jean-Philippe Dally 27 – (1996-03-08)8 March 1996 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Champagne Basket	Head coach Dejan Prokić Assistant coach(es) Miloš Gligorijević Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 25 August 2023

Notable players

Other current notable players from Ivory Coast:

Ivory Coast roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G Pape-Philippe Amagou 32 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Le Mans Sarthe Basket G/F Guy Landry Edi 28 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Saint-Chamond Basket F/C Herve Lamizana 36 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Yulon Luxgen PF Herve Toure 35 – (1982-02-25)25 February 1982 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Estudiantes Concordia C Louri Frejus Zerbo 28 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) Limoges CSP Elite C Mohamed Bamba 19 – (1998-05-12)12 May 1998 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Orlando Magic	Legend Club – describes current club Age – describes age on 8 June 2017

Past rosters

Team for the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.

Ivory Coast national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. F 4 Charles Abouo 23 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) CB Peñas Huesca G 5 Mouloukou Diabate 26 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) SLUC Nancy Basket F 6 Issife Soumahoro 24 – (1988-10-31)31 October 1988 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Strasbourg IG G 7 Pape-Philippe Amagou 28 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Chorale Roanne Basket G 8 Kinidinnin Konate 32 – (1980-08-23)23 August 1980 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Abidjan Basket Club C 9 Hervé Lamizana 32 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) F 10 Ismaël N'Diaye 31 – (1982-04-20)20 April 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Basket-club Boncourt G 11 Mickaël Toti 26 – (1987-04-11)11 April 1987 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Reims Champagne Basket C 12 Jonathan Kale 27 – (1985-10-18)18 October 1985 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) CB Coruña C 13 Louri Zerbo 24 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) BCM Gravelines F 14 Guy Edi 24 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Gonzaga F 15 Mohamed Koné 32 – (1981-03-24)24 March 1981 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Chorale Roanne Basket	Head coach Natxo Lezkano Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 20 August 2013

Head coaches

• Vladislav Lučić: (1981–1983)
• Jacques Monclar: (2007)
• Randoald Dessarzin: (2009, 2010)
• Christophe Denis: (2012)
• Natxo Lezkano: (2011, 2013,^[6] 2015, 2024)
• Dejan Prokic (a.i.): (August 2022)^[7]

Kit

Manufacturer

Peak^[8]

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

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
2. FIBA National Federations – Cote d'Ivoire, fiba.com. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
3. "PUR/CIV– Ivory Coast claim first win but just miss out on place in second round". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
4. "Mondial basket-ball 2023 : la liste des 12 éléphants sélectionnés dévoilée avec Zouzoua et Souleymane Diabaté". linfodrome.com. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
5. "Team roster: Ivory Coast" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.
6. Head coaches, fiba.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
7. "Basketball-Ivory Coast: the birth of a golden generation?". African News Paper. 30 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
8. 2015 FIBA Africa Championship – Cote d'Ivoire, FIBA.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

External links

• Official website
• FIBA profile
• Cote d'Ivoire Basketball Records at FIBA Archive

Videos

• ANG – CIV | Basketball Highlights – #FIBAWC 2023 Qualifiers Youtube.com video