MIES (Switzerland) - If you're still savoring the incredible year of international hoops in 2024, brace for an even bigger one in 2025.
There is plenty of basketball coming up that is going to demand your attention.
10. International window for Continental Cup Qualifiers - (February 19 - 25)
Among the most intense and competitive days on the calendar are those in the final window for national teams around the world to seal their places in continental championships. There will be games in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe. They can be viewed in person, on television or via streaming.
9. EuroLeague Women Final Six (April 9-13)
The best continental women's league in the world has a new competition format for 2024-25 and that includes an end-of-season Final Six. The battles already waged this season have been riveting. As usual, the top women's players in the sport will be on display.
8 - 3x3 Champions Cup (March 14-16)
It's going to be a historic year in 3x3 basketball and it starts with the debut of the FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup which will be played from 14-16 March in Bangkok, Thailand. The Champions Cup will be held annually and will feature the world's top 3x3 basketball teams, including continental cup winners, the highest-ranked teams in the FIBA 3x3 basketball rankings, Olympic gold medalists and the host nation.
It'll be a quick turnaround for the next major competition as the 3x3 Asia Cup tips off on 26-30 March in Singapore. Utsunomiya, Japan, will then be the site for the first of many events on the 3x3 World Tour. The 3x3 World Cup will then be from 23-29 June in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Another event you don't want to miss is the 3x3 Europe Cup 2025 which will be played from 5-7 September in Copenhagen.
There will be no shortage of 3x3 action, so stay tuned for even more updates as the year progresses.
7. Basketball Champions League Final Four (May 8-11)
A must-see event that continues to grow in prestige has its ninth Final Four in 2025. The competition has been dominated by Spanish clubs yet there are teams in Türkiye, France, Italy, Lithuania, Israel, Greece and Hungary looking to go all the way.
6. Start of Women's Continental Championships (June 18)
The FIBA Women's EuroBasket tips off June 18 and lasts until June 29, with the countries of Czechia, Germany, Greece and Italy hosting games. The FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Santiago, Chile, gets underway June 28 and runs until July 6. Hot on the heels of that event will be the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, from July 13-20. The hosts are defending champions. Nigeria will be gunning for a fifth consecutive title since 2017 when the FIBA Women's AfroBasket is staged in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from July 25 to August. 3.
5. FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup (June 28 to July 6)
Big-time hoops is on the calendar in 2025 for Lausanne, Switzerland. Spain won the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2023 in Hungary after defeating France in the Final while Türkiye were third. Of that three, only the French have qualified for this summer. USA, who had won the two titles before Spain, are among the favorites, as are Canada, the winners in 2017. As hosts, Switzerland will make their debut in the competition.
4. FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup (July 12-20)
Brno, which has a long and successful history with women's hoops and served as one of the host cities for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2010, will be bouncing again when the finest young talent gathers in Czechia. USA will be favorites as they go after a fourth consecutive title in the competition.
3. Men's Continental Cups (August 5)
National team titles are up for grabs in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe this summer. The FIBA Asia Cup swings into action in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 5 and wraps up on August 17. Two-time defending champions Australia are looking to stay on top ahead of emerging countries Japan and Philippines, as well as Lebanon - the side the Boomers defeated in the Final in the last edition. The FIBA AfroBasket (August 12-24) will be staged in Angola, and everyone will be looking out for South Sudan following the Bright Stars' ninth-placed finish at the Olympics. The FIBA EuroBasket (August 27 to September 14) will once again be must-see with the 24 countries chasing the title. It will be held in Latvia, Cyprus, Poland and Finland. The FIBA AmeriCup (August 23-31) takes place in Managua, Nicaragua.
2. FIBA Intercontinental Cup (September 18-21)
Singapore hosts for the third straight time the event that has winners of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), BCL Americas, BCL Asia, Basketball African League (BAL), Australia's NBL and the NBA G-League.
1. World Basketball Day (December 21)
New York University professor David Hollander, the author of "How Basketball Can Save the World," drafted a United Nations resolution for World Basketball Day in the book and the UN, in 2023, adopted it. So every December 21 is now World Basketball Day. Hollander told FIBA he wants World Basketball Day "to become the sacred day on the world calendar."
"Clocks will stop, babies will not cry, a global sense of peace and balance will be felt in every heart," he envisioned. It resonates with FIBA’s mission to bring people together and unite the community.
Other important events:
While dates have yet to be officially confirmed, there will be many youth national team continental championships staged at different age groups and the eFIBA World Finals Season 4 will also take place. The dates will eventually be announced on FIBA.basketball.
FIBA