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The Mexico national basketball team (Spanish: selección de baloncesto de México / selección Mexicana de básquetbol) represents Mexico in men's international basketball competitions, The team has made 6 appearances in FIBA World Cup and 5 appearances in the Summer Olympics. The governing body of the team is the Asociación Deportiva Mexicana de Básquetbol (ADEMEBA).
 | |||
| FIBA ranking | 26  (26 November 2024)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1933 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Americas | ||
| National federation | Asociación Deportiva Mexicana de Básquetbol (ADEMEBA) | ||
| Coach | Omar Quintero | ||
| Nickname(s) | 12 Guerreros | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 5 | ||
| Medals |  Bronze: (1936) | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 6 | ||
| FIBA AmeriCup | |||
| Appearances | 15 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2013) Bronze: (2017) | ||
| |||
In 2013, Mexico won the FIBA AmeriCup.
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Until the late 1960s, team Mexico was a major force at the world stage. The team won the bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics, finished 4th at the 1948 event and 5th in 1968. Mexico won the Pan American Games silver medal in Winnipeg 1967 led by Captain Carlos Quintanar with players like Arturo Guerrero and Manuel Raga.
At the FIBA Americas Championship 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mexico finished 7th, ahead of Panama, Venezuela and the United States Virgin Islands.[2]
On individual performances, Gustavo Ayon finished among the tournament's top performers in steals (3rd), blocks (3rd) and minutes per game (9th).[3]
Both Eduardo Nájera and Earl Watson expressed their interest in representing Mexico internationally.[4][5] However, neither received permission by their NBA teams to participate at the FIBA Americas Championship 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[6]
Mexico Beats Team USA
On 29 October 2011, Mexico defeated Team USA 71–55. This 16 point victory took place during the 2011 Pan Am Games.[7]
"La Edad de Oro" (since 2013)
Mexico took part in the FIBA Americas Championship 2013 to replace Panama, who were disqualified. To the surprise of many they beat hosts Venezuela in their opening game, and advanced to the second round with wins over Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. They later finished top of the eight-team second round group and a semi-final win over heavy favourites Argentina saw them through to the final.
On 11 September 2013, they beat Puerto Rico 91–83 in the gold medal game to win the FIBA Americas Championship.[8] Inside player Gustavo Ayón was voted as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
2014 Basketball World Cup
The surprising gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship secured Mexico a spot at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. This marked the first qualification to the Basketball World Cup in 40 years.[9]
At the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the Mexicans won two of their five preliminary round games against Korea and Angola which earned them a playoff spot for the first time in their history. They would, however, come unstuck against eventual champions USA.
Especially noteworthy was Mexico’s 3 point field goal percentage, which was one of the highest among all the teams at the event.[10]
2015 FIBA Americas Championship
Due to Mexico's strong performances of late, the country gained the right to host the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.
Mexico Defeats Team USA Again
On 28 June 2018, Mexico defeated Team USA 78–70 during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers. Mexico was led by Gustavo Ayon and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Team USA was led by Alex Caruso, David Stockton, and coached by Jeff Van Gundy.[11]
On 19 November 2021, Mexico defeated Team USA 97–88 during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers. Mexico was led by Orlando Méndez-Valdez (who was also part of Mexico's victory over Team USA in 2018) and Team USA was led by Isaiah Thomas and Luke Kornet.[12]
On 2 September 2022, Mexico defeated Team USA 73–67 during the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup in Recife, Brazil. Mexico was led by Paul Stoll and Fabian Jaimes. Team USA was led by Jodie Meeks, Patrick McCaw, Frank Mason III, and Norris Cole.[13]
On 16 August 2023, Team Mexico defeated the Kansas State University Wildcats 83–81 in an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[14] Kansas State made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament in the 2022–23 season.[15]
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Worldwide
- FIBA World Cup
- 8th place: 1967
- Olympic Games
- Third place: 1936
Continental
Regional
- Central American and Caribbean Games
- Champions (8): 1926, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1946, 1950, 1954, 1990
- Runners-up (3): 1966, 2010, 2023
- Third place: 1962, 1974, 1978, 1982, 2002
FIBA honours summary
| Competition |  |  |  | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIBA World Cup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Olympic Games | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FIBA AmeriCup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FIBA Centrobasket | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | 8 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
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Olympic Games
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 3 | Basketball at the 1936 Summer Olympics | Berlin, Germany |
| 1948 | 4 | Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics | London, United Kingdom |
| 1952 | 9 | Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics | Helsinki, Finland |
| 1960 | 12 | Basketball at the 1960 Summer Olympics | Rome, Italy |
| 1964 | 12 | Basketball at the 1964 Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan |
| 1968 | 5 | Basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 1976 | 10 | Basketball at the 1976 Summer Olympics | Montreal, Canada |
FIBA World Olympic Qualifying
FIBA World Cup
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 13 | 1959 FIBA World Championship | Chile |
| 1963 | 9 | 1963 FIBA World Championship | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| 1967 | 8 | 1967 FIBA World Championship | Uruguay |
| 1974 | 9 | 1974 FIBA World Championship | Puerto Rico |
| 2014 | 14 | 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup | Spain |
| 2023 | 25 | 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup | Philippines, Japan and Indonesia |
NOTE: In June 2018, Mexico beat Team USA 78–70 in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification (Americas).[16]
FIBA AmeriCup
Pan American Games
- 1951 – 8th place
- 1955 – 4th place
- 1959 – 4th place
- 1963 – 7th place
- 1967 – Silver
(Mexico finished second only to Team USA. Team Mexico featured one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors: Manuel Raga)[17] - 1971 – 4th place
- 1975 – 4th place
- 1979 – 8th place
- 1983 – Bronze
(This competition was memorable for Mexico taking a 20–4 lead against a Team USA squadron that featured Michael Jordan, Chris Mullin, Sam Perkins, Michael Cage, Ed Pinckney, Mark Price, and Wayman Tisdale. Team USA later came back for an 11-point win: 74–63. Team USA won the gold, Brazil won the silver, and Mexico beat Canada for the bronze medal.)[18] - 1987 – 4th place
- 1991 – Silver (Mexico finished ahead of a Team USA squadron that featured Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Thomas Hill, Walt Williams, Clarence Weatherspoon, Tracey Murray, Jimmy Jackson, Terry Dehere, Adam Keefe, Eric Montross, and Tony Bennett. Puerto Rico won the gold, Mexico won the silver, and Team USA won the bronze medal.)[19]
- 1995 – 5th place
- 2003 – 5th place
- 2011 – Silver (Mexico beat Team USA 71–55 in their semifinal game.)[20]
- 2015 – 8th place
- 2019 – 7th place
- 2023 – 4th place[21]
FIBA Centrobasket
- 1965 – Champions
(Team Mexico featured one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors: Manuel Raga) - 1967 – 4th place
- 1973 - Silver
- 1975 – Champions
- 1987 – Bronze
- 1989 – 4th place
- 1991 – Silver
- 1997 – 4th place
- 2001 – Silver
- 2003 – Bronze [22]
- 2004 – 4th place
- 2006 – 4th place
- 2008 – 5th place
- 2010 – 6th place
- 2014 – Champions
- 2016 – Silver
FIBA COCABA Championship
- 2006 – Champions [23]
- 2007 – Champions [24]
- 2009 – Champions [25]
- 2013 – Champions [25]
- 2015 – 4th place
Central American and Caribbean Games
- 1926 – Champions
- 1930 – Champions
- 1935 – Champions
- 1938 – Champions
- 1946 – Champions
- 1950 – Champions
- 1954 – Champions
- 1962 – Bronze
- 1966 – Silver
- 1970 – 4th place
- 1974 – Bronze
- 1978 – Bronze
- 1982 – Bronze
- 1986 – 5th place
- 1990 – Champions
- 1998 – 10th place
- 2002 – Bronze
- 2006 – 5th place
- 2010 – Silver
- 2014 – 5th place
- 2018 – 5th place
- 2023 – Silver
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Current roster
The roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[26][27]
| Mexico men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous squads
Head coach position
- Augustin Garcia (1959)
- Enrique "Kiki" Romero (1960)
- Pedro Barba Ramos (1963)
- Agustin Garcia Arreola (1964)
Lester Lane (1967–1968)- Pedro Barba Ramos (1974)
Carlos Jose Bru (1976)
Guillermo Vecchio (2003)- Nolan Richardson (2007)
- Silvio Jose Santander (2008)
- Nolan Richardson (2009)
- Arturo Guerrero (2009)
Josep Claros (2010–2011)- Sergio Valdeolmillos (2011)
- Josep Claros (2012)
- Arturo Guerrero (2013)
- Sergio Valdeolmillos (2013–2014)
- Bill Cartwright (2014–2015)
- Sergio Valdeolmillos (2015–2017)
- Ramón Díaz Sánchez (2018)
- Iván Déniz (2018–2019)
- Sergio Valdeolmillos (2020–2021)
- Omar Quintero (2021–present)
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Manufacturer
2015–2021: Under Armour
2022–present: Titan Sports
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