DR Congo men's national basketball team
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The DR Congo national basketball team (French: Équipe nationale de basketball de Congo DR) represents DR Congo in men's international basketball competitions, it is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Democratic Republic of Congo.[2] (French: République démocratique du Congo Fédération de basket-ball)
| |||
| FIBA ranking | 73  3 (3 March 2026)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1963 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Africa | ||
| National federation | Febaco | ||
| Coach | Michel Perrin | ||
| Nickname | Leopards | ||
| AfroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 8 | ||
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The team has appeared in the FIBA Africa Championship, but has yet to appear in the FIBA World Championship. Its biggest success to date was the Final Four placement at the 1975 FIBA Africa Championship when it competed as Zaire.
History
DR Congo joined FIBA in 1963 and made its continental debut twelve years later at the AfroBasket in 1974. The following year, at AfroBasket 1975, the team—then known as Zaire—finished in fourth place with a 2–3 record. After placing sixth in 1980, DR Congo missed the tournament for the next 27 years.[3]
At AfroBasket 2007, DR Congo returned and finished 15th.[4]
Following another lengthy absence, DR Congo re-emerged at AfroBasket 2017 and advanced to the quarter-finals, highlighted by an upset of Nigeria in the group phase.[5]
In August 2022, Jonathan Kuminga, then a newly crowned NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, joined the national team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers, becoming the first NBA player to represent the Leopards.[6] He scored a team-high 18 points and six rebounds in a qualifier against Cameroon.[7]
In qualifying for AfroBasket 2025, DR Congo impressed with a 5–1 record under head coach Michel Perrin.[8] Expectations grew further when Kuminga was named to the preliminary roster.[9]
However, as the tournament approached, Kuminga’s participation was cast into doubt due to unresolved contract negotiations with Golden State. He reportedly declined a two-year, $45 million extension and was considered unlikely to play for DR Congo at AfroBasket 2025.[10][11][12]
Performances
FIBA Basketball World Cup
DR Congo has never appeared in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but has played in the qualifying rounds.
| 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 | ||||||||||
 1986 | ||||||||||
 1990 | ||||||||||
 1994 | ||||||||||
 1998 | ||||||||||
 2002 | ||||||||||
 2006 | ||||||||||
 2010 | ||||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||
 2019 |
6 | 2 | 4 | 2019 | ||||||
  2023 |
12 | 5 | 7 | 2023 | ||||||
 2027 |
To be determined | In progress | 2027 | |||||||
 2031 |
To be determined | |||||||||
| Total | 0/16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | Total | ||
AfroBasket
Fourth place
| AfroBasket record | Qualification record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | GP | W | L | – | |
 1964 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
 1965 |
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| 1968 |
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 1970 |
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 1972 |
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 1974 | Classification stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 1975 | Main stage | 4th | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| 1978 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1980 | Classification stage | 6th | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||
 1981 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
| 1983 |
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 1985 |
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| 1987 |
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 1989 |
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| 1992 |
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 1993 |
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 1995 |
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| 1997 |
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| 1999 |
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| 2001 |
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| 2003 |
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| 2005 |
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| 2007 | Classification round | 15th | 6 | 2 | 4 | |||||
 2009 | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2009 | |||||
 2011 |
Did not enter | |||||||||
| 2013 |
6 | 1 | 5 | 2013 | ||||||
| 2015 |
Withdrew | |||||||||
| 2017 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2017 | |
 2021 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2021 | |
| 2025 |
Qualification to quarter-finals | 11th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2025 | |
| Total | 7/29 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 24 | 11 | 13 | – | ||
FIBA AfroCan
Champions Fourth place
Team
Current roster
Roster for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket.[13]
| DR Congo national basketball team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coaches
| Name | Nationality | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Jacques Ndala |  DR Congo | 2010s |
| Kouadio Michel | CIV | 2010s |
| Philipp Onguéné | FRA | 2016–2017 |
| Papy Kipunka | DR Congo | 2017–2018[14] |
| John Douaglin[15] | France | 2018 |
| Mathias Eckhoff[16] |  Norway | 2020–2022[17] |
| Thomas Drouot | France |
February 2022 – July 2022[18] |
| Emmanuel Mavomo | DR Congo |
August 2022 – May 2023[19] |
| Pierrot Ilunga | DR Congo |
2023[20] |
| Michel Perrin | France |
2025 |
Notable eligible players
Past rosters
Roster in the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers of August 27, 2022.[21]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Current club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | SG | Jonathan Kuminga | Golden State Warriors |
| 3 | F | Narcisse Ambanza | Espoir Fukash |
| 4 | G | Myck Kabongo |  Cape Town Tigers |
| 5 | G | Henry Pwono |  Etzella |
| 10 | PF | Joel Ntambwe | Delaware Blue Coats |
| 11 | C | Pitchou Kambuy Manga | REG |
| 15 | F | Rolly Fula Nganga | Espoir Fukash |
| 16 | PF | Shekinah Munanga | Évreux |
| 18 | C | Jordan likanda | CB Breogán |
| 23 | F | Rodrigue Ebondo Tambwe | SOA |
| 24 | G | Ron Mvouika |  Plymouth Raiders |
Top scorers
The following players were the DR Congo's top scorers in their AfroBasket tournaments: