Azerbaijan men's national basketball team
Men's national basketball team representing Azerbaijan
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The Azerbaijan men's national basketball team (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan milli basketbol komandası) is the national basketball team of Azerbaijan. The team is controlled by the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation.
(13 July 2026)[1] | |||
| FIBA ranking | 99 (13 July 2026)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1994 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | Azerbaijan Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | Tahir Bakhshiyev | ||
| Nickname(s) | Milli komanda (The National Team) | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
| Championship for Small Countries | |||
| Appearances | 4 | ||
| Medals |  Gold: (2006, 2008) | ||
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| First international | |||
 Belarus 121–50 Azerbaijan  (Minsk, Belarus; 2 June 2001) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Somalia 29–106 Azerbaijan (Medina, Saudi Arabia; 9 April 2005) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Belarus 121–50 Azerbaijan (Minsk, Belarus; 2 June 2001) | |||
Since becoming members of FIBA in 1994, Azerbaijan has mostly taken part in smaller competitions such as the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, winning it twice, in 2006 and 2008. The national team also won a title at the Islamic Solidarity Games in their lone appearance in 2005.
History
After Azerbaijan obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation was founded in 1993, and became members of FIBA in 1994. During Azerbaijan's early years, the national team did not appear in any international competition until they entered EuroBasket 2003 qualifiers.[2]
Following Azerbaijan's failed qualification process for EuroBasket 2003, the national team entered their first international tournament at the 2004 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. Azerbaijan would complete the event at a (2–2) record, for a fourth place finish.[3] A year later, the national team entered the 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games, where Azerbaijan finished the competition winning the gold medal.[4]
In 2006, Azerbaijan participated in the 2006 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, in which the team went (4–1), and reached the final to defeat Albania 66–57 to win the title.[5] At the event in 2008, Azerbaijan repeated as champions, this time in an 78–80 victory over Moldova.[6] After the tournament, Azerbaijan did not appear at an international event until EuroBasket 2013 qualifiers. However, Azerbaijan would eventually be eliminated from qualifying following a (4–4) record.[7]
Ten years after Azerbaijan competed in their last international competition, the national team made its return at the 2022 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. Azerbaijan went on to close out the tournament in fourth place.[8]
Competitive record
FIBA World Cup
Championship for Small Countries
Islamic Solidarity Games
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EuroBasket
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Results and fixtures
Win Loss
2025
| 20 February 2025 | Kosovo  |
81–79 | Azerbaijan |
Pristina, Kosovo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 (UTC+1) | Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 23–20, 17–18, 21–20 | |||
| Pts: Tmušić 21 Rebs: four players 5 Asts: Myles 6 |
Boxscore | Pts: Hall 21 Rebs: Hall 16 Asts: K. Mammadov, Turgut 5 |
Arena: Palace of Youth and Sports Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Stylianos Simeonidis (GRE), Mehmet Şahin (TUR), Mladen Lučić (MNE) |
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| 23 February 2025 | Azerbaijan |
64–79 |  Ireland |
Baku, Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 14–20, 19–13, 15–25 | |||
| Pts: S. Shirzadov 14 Rebs: Hall 12 Asts: K. Mammadov 4 |
Boxscore | Pts: Flood 23 Rebs: N. Quinn 9 Asts: Flood 5 |
Arena: Baku Sports Palace Attendance: 700 Referees: Zdravko Rutešić (MNE), Duhan Köyiçi (TUR), Nemanja Vlahović (SRB) |
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| 27 November 2025 | North Macedonia  |
87–49 | Azerbaijan |
Skopje, North Macedonia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 (UTC+1) | Scoring by quarter: 22–13, 18–8, 23–16, 24–12 | |||
| Pts: Jakimovski 25 Rebs: Jakimovski, Stojanovski 11 Asts: Moore 9 |
Boxscore | Pts: Hamzayev 12 Rebs: S. Donat 13 Asts: K. Mammadov 5 |
Arena: SRC Kale Attendance: 800 Referees: Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Polat Parlak (TUR), Sava Ćetković (MNE) |
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| 30 November 2025 | Azerbaijan |
90–95 |  Luxembourg |
Baku, Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 26–32, 17–25, 29–13 | |||
| Pts: Van Beck 29 Rebs: Van Beck 8 Asts: Van Beck 7 |
Boxscore | Pts: Kovac 29 Rebs: Kovac 9 Asts: Kovac 5 |
Arena: Baku Sports Palace Attendance: 1,235 Referees: Nemanja Ninković (SRB), Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Aleksandar Radonjić (AUT) |
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2026
| 27 February 2025 | Ireland |
75–76 | Azerbaijan |
Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 (UTC+0) | Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 16–23, 19–18, 21–17 | |||
| Pts: Flood 18 Rebs: N. Quinn 12 Asts: Fulton 11 |
Boxscore | Pts: Van Beck 20 Rebs: S. Donat, Van Beck 6 Asts: K. Mammadov 8 |
Arena: National Basketball Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Jan Baloun (CZE), Iain Macdonald (GRB), Nikola Bejat (NOR) |
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| 2 March 2026 | Azerbaijan |
70–78 | North Macedonia |
Baku, Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 16–18, 12–21, 14–20 | |||
| Pts: Van Beck 23 Rebs: S. Donat 8 Asts: K. Mammadov 4 |
Boxscore | Pts: Jakimovski 22 Rebs: Happ 9 Asts: Magdevski 7 |
Arena: Baku Sports Palace Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Kirile Tvauri (GEO), Tomasz Langowski (POL), Emmanouil Tsolakos (GRE) |
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| 2 July 2026 | Luxembourg |
74–76 | Azerbaijan |
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 (UTC+2) | Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 24–17, 13–18, 19–19 | |||
| Pts: Kovac 15 Rebs: Kovac 8 Asts: Kovac 4 |
Boxscore | Pts: K. Mammadov 19 Rebs: Aydın 12 Asts: K. Mammadov 3 |
Arena: d'Coque Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Jan Baloun (CZE), Nemanja Vlahović (SRB), Jules Gaduel (FRA) |
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| 5 July 2026 | Azerbaijan |
70–76 | Ireland |
Baku, Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 (UTC+4) | Scoring by quarter: 23–12, 12–19, 20–22, 15–23 | |||
| Pts: Van Beck 21 Rebs: Aydın 14 Asts: Aydın 6 |
Boxscore | Pts: Flood 25 Rebs: Alajiki 13 Asts: Alajiki, Flood 4 |
Arena: Baku Sports Palace Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Mehmet Karabilecen (TUR), Vlad Cotrobaș (ROU), Sava Ćetković (MNE) |
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Team
Current roster
Roster for the EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers matches on 2 and 5 July 2026 against Luxembourg and Ireland.[9]
| Azerbaijan men's national basketball team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
Head coach position
Rimas Kurtinaitis – (2002–2006)
Elkhan Aliyev – (2008–2016)- Samit Nuruzade – (2016–2018)
Aleksandar Trifunović – (2022)- Tahir Bakhshiyev – (2024–present)
Past rosters
2022 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries: finished 4th among 6 teams[10]
| Azerbaijan men's national basketball team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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