Nigeria’s men’s basketball side, D’Tigers, have slid down the global pecking order, dropping to 53rd place in the latest standings released by FIBA. The downgrade follows a packed summer of international action, including the AfroBasket 2025 tournament staged in Angola.
Although Nigeria managed to advance to the quarter-final stage, their position fell sharply—an 11-place slip from 42nd earlier in March. On the continental chart, the 2015 champions also slipped from sixth to eighth, now carrying 248.7 points compared with the 297.8 they held a few months ago. They join Morocco, Tunisia, the Virgin Islands, and Kosovo as some of the steepest fallers, while the likes of Mali, South Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, and Jamaica surged upward.
Under head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman, D’Tigers battled through the group stage impressively, finishing on top of Group B with victories against Madagascar, three-time winners Tunisia, and Cameroon. However, their campaign came to a halt after a 91-75 defeat to Senegal in the last eight. Standout showings came from Caleb Agada, Josh Okogie, Stan Okoye, and Ike Nwamu, who all made notable contributions.
The team’s attention now turns to November, when the qualification pathway for the FIBA Men’s World Cup begins. Nigeria are pushing for a return to the global event in 2027 in Qatar, after failing to qualify for the 2023 edition. Their last outing at the competition was in 2019, hosted in China under then-coach Alex Nwora.
On the African ladder, South Sudan remain number one with 446.7 points, despite dropping slightly on the global list from 23rd to 24th. Fresh AfroBasket winners Angola climbed four places to second in Africa and 29th worldwide. Rounding out the top ten are Ivory Coast, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Mali.
Worldwide, the United States continue to set the pace with 845.8 points. Current world champions Germany sit in second place, while Serbia, France, and Canada complete the top five nations.
