Olympic Games When Spain qualified for the
1936 Summer Olympics, where basketball was part of the games for the first time, expectations were high for the runners-up of the
1935 EuroBasket. Unfortunately, as one of the favorites to win medals, Spain could not attend the Games due to the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War just days before the start of the event. Spain's first Olympic success came at the
1984 Summer Olympics. The team made it all the way to the gold medal game, before losing to the United States (led by
Patrick Ewing and featuring a young
Michael Jordan). At the
2008 Summer Olympics, Spain reached the gold medal game for the second time. However, in a rematch of the 1984 Olympic final, Spain fell to the United States once more. This time led by
Kobe Bryant and nicknamed the "
Redeem Team", the Americans won after a remarkably close game 118–107. Four years later, at the
2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United States faced Spain in the Olympic final for the third time. The USA would go on to win gold again, by the score of 107–100, with Spain coming away with its third Olympic (and second straight) silver medal. During the
2016 Summer Olympics, Spain reached the bronze medal match against
Australia, where they escaped with a narrow 89–88 victory.
FIBA World Cup During the early years of the
FIBA World Cup, Spain struggled to establish a steady presence as a competitor. Between 1950 and 1970, the national team only qualified once. Then, beginning in 1974, Spain developed into a serious competitor and regularly finished among the World Cup top performers in the competitions to follow. At the
2006 FIBA World Cup, Spain achieved their greatest success in its history, as they defeated
Greece in the
final to capture their first World Cup title. Held at the
Saitama Super Arena in Japan, the game ended by the final score of 70–47. Furthermore,
Pau Gasol was named the tournament
MVP, while
Jorge Garbajosa was selected to the
All-Tournament team. Shortly afterwards, the team were awarded with the 2006
Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. At the
2019 FIBA World Cup, Spain won their second World Cup title by defeating
Argentina in the
final by the score of 95–75. The spectacular play of
Ricky Rubio during the tournament earned him the MVP, while
Marc Gasol was named to the All-Tournament team. After this victory, Marc Gasol became the second player in tournament history to win the
NBA title and the World Cup in the same year; with the other being
Lamar Odom.
EuroBasket The first game in the history of the selection was a qualifier for the
EuroBasket 1935, where Spain defeated
Portugal 33–12. This event, which was held in
Geneva in the summer of 1935, was the first EuroBasket game in history. Spain went on to finish as runners-up in the tournament behind
Latvia. After coming in second in 1935,
1973,
1983,
1999,
2003, and
2007, Spain won their first continental championship in
2009; defeating
Serbia to become
European champions. The team repeated their success in
2011, taking out France in the
final. At
EuroBasket 2015, Spain once again reached the
title game, and demolished
Lithuania in the process 80–63. Two years after winning it all in 2015, Spain followed it up with another strong performance at
EuroBasket 2017, defeating
Russia to win the bronze medal match. It marked the fourth time Spain won bronze at the EuroBasket, as they also won it in
1991,
2001, and
2013. Spain captured their fourth European title at the
EuroBasket 2022, after defeating France in the
final once again, a rematch of the 2011 title game. Additionally, center
Willy Hernangómez was selected as tournament
MVP. After winning the EuroBasket in 2022, Spain endured their worst result ever at the competition in
2025. They finished 17th, and failed to make it past the group stage of the tournament for the first time in their history.
Other events Besides success at the "Big Three" events (Summer Olympic Games, FIBA World Cup, and EuroBasket) Spain has also had success at the
Mediterranean Games, where it has won several medals: three gold, four silver and one bronze. ==Medal record==