Bulgaria men's national basketball team
The Bulgaria men's national basketball team (Bulgarian: Български национален отбор по баскетбол, romanized: Balgarski natsionalen otbor po basketbol) represents Bulgaria in international basketball. The governing body is the Bulgarian Basketball Federation.
| FIBA ranking | 45 (1 March 2024) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1935 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Europe | ||
| National federation | Bulgarian Basketball Federation | ||
| Coach | Rosen Barchovski | ||
| Nickname(s) | Лъвовете / Lavovete (The Lions) | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 4 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| EuroBasket | |||
| Appearances | 25 | ||
| Medals | Silver: (1957) Bronze: (1961) | ||
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| First international | |||
| Italy 42–23 Bulgaria (Geneva, Switzerland; 2 May 1935) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Ireland 55–133 Bulgaria (Heerlen, Netherlands; 4 May 1972) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Bulgaria 60–104 Russia (Botevgrad, Bulgaria; 21 February 2019) | |||
Bulgaria's first appearance at an international tournament came at the EuroBasket in 1935. They have reached the premier European basketball competition 25 times, with their best results coming in 1957 as the runners-up on home soil, and their bronze medal finish in 1961 respectively. Bulgaria has also qualified for the FIBA World Cup, where they finished seventh in their lone appearance in 1959. Competing at the Olympic Games multiple times, the national team had their top performance in 1956. Bulgaria has also competed at smaller events, such as the Balkan Championship, winning gold medals in 1959, 1960, and 1971.