MIES (Switzerland) - Brazil was synonymous with the word championship in the early editions of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The country won not just once but twice in the first four editions, going back to back in 1959 and 1963. Brazil were also runners-up in the second World Cup ever staged, and that was on home soil. There were also podium finishes at three Olympics.
In recent times, podium finishes at those major events have eluded the South American giants yet there have been fantastic Brazilian players and teams that have grabbed spotlight.
What are the top five Brazil national teams of all time in men's basketball?
5 - 1960 - Olympics
One of three Brazil teams to reach the Olympic podium, this side had legends of the golden generation like Wlamir Marques, Amaury Pasos, Ubiratan Pereira and coach Togo Renan Soares, aka "Kanela" - all in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Brazil showed nerves of steel as they won their first six games, defeating Puerto Rico (75-72), the Soviet Union (58-54), Mexico (80-72), Italy (78-75), Poland (77-68) and Czechoslovakia (85-78). The team's luck ran out in its penultimate game against the Soviets in the Final Phase, 64-62. A heavy defeat to USA followed. Brazil did not leave the Olympics empty handed, though. Their showing was good enough for the bronze medal.
4 - 2009 FIBA AmeriCup
A star-studded lineup reached its potential with a riveting performance in Puerto Rico, where Brazil defeated the hosts Boricuas in a pulsating Final, 61-60. Brazil won nine of their 10 games and also avenged their only defeat, beating Carlos Arroyo and Co in a thriller to book a spot in the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup as AmeriCup champions.
Leandro Barbosa had 24 points to cap a spectacular performance for the NBA star. Barbosa averaged 21.1 points, which was second only to Luis Scola's 23.3 points per game in the tournament. In addition to Anderson Varejao and Barbosa, Brazil had a roster to envy that also included Marcelinho Huertas, Tiago Splitter, Alex Garcia, Guilherme Giovannoni, Marcelo Machado, Joao Paulo Batista, Diego Pinheiro da Silva, Carlos Olivinha, Eduardo Machado and Jonathan Tavernari.
3 - 1987 Pan American Games
The Pan American Games shot to international notoriety as never before when Oscar Schmidt led Brazil to an upset of the United States in the Final in Indianapolis. Oscar, who is in both the FIBA Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, led Brazil to a 120-115 come-from-behind triumph.
Brazil won despite having trailed by 14 points at half-time. Oscar scored 46 points in that win. Also in that team were Marcel de Souza, André Ernesto Stoffel, Gerson Victalino, Israel Andrade, João Vianna, Jorge Guerra, Maury de Souza, Paulinho Villas Boas, Ricardo Guimarães, Rolando Ferreira and Sílvio Malvezi.
Brazil won seven of their eight games at the event, with their only defeat against Canada. Brazil also beat Canada in a 79-78 thriller and then won a high-scoring affair against Mexico, 137-116 before their stunning win over a USA that had many future stars like David Robinson, Willie Anderson, Rex Chapman, Pervis Ellison and Danny Manning.
2 - 1959 - FIBA Basketball World Cup
Brazil had their breakthrough moment in the third edition of FIBA's flagship event after finishing runners-up five years earlier on home soil in Rio de Janeiro. How sweet was this title triumph? Legendary forward Wlamir Marques recalled in the The History of the FIBA Basketball World Cup documentary that there had been no celebrations among the fans in 1954. "We were World Cup runner-up for the first time," he said.
"But nobody gave a damn about that. In our country, runner-up is the first of the losers." Also in this World Cup winning team led by coach Togo Soares, were Amaury Pasos, who was named MVP of the event, Edson Bispo Dos Santos, Waldemar Blatkauskas, Pedro Vicente Fonseca, Zenny De Azevedo, Jathyr Eduardo Schall, Fernando Freitas, Boccardo, Waldyr, Carmlo De Souza, Jose Maciel Senra and Otto Phal Da Nobrega.
Brazil had a great team and won the title, despite defeats to the Soviet Union, in both the Preliminary Round (73-64) and the Final Phase (66-63). The Soviets went from title contenders to dropping down the table after chose not to take on Formosa (now Chinese Taipei) for political reasons, on orders from the Kremlin.
Yet this was a great Brazil team that Beat Puerto Rico, the USA and hosts Chile to win the title. And as Brazilian journalist Toninho Neves explained in the FIBA World Cup documentary, "Over here, what really matters is winning, nothing else. So this basketball title changed the perception of the sport among Brazilians."
1 - 1963 - FIBA Basketball World Cup
Multiple members of this team are in the FIBA Hall of Fame, as well as coach Togo Soares. This Brazil team marched to the title with six wins in as many games and finished in grand style, beating the Soviet Union (90-79) and then USA (85-81).
By capturing this crown, Brazil went back to back, having claiming the title four year earlier in Chile. Wlamir Marques, the small forward named as the MVP of this World Cup, led the team scoring at 18.0 points per game, the third highest average in the tournament, while fellow FIBA Hall of Famer, power forward Amaury Pasos, was close behind at 17.7 points per game. This incredible team also had center Ubiratan Pereira, yet another member of the FIBA Hall of Fame. Also in the squad were Carlos Domingo Massoni, Benedito Cicero Tortelli, Carmo De Souza, Jathyr Eduardo Schall, Luiz Claudio Menon, Antonio Salvador Sucar, Victoer Mirshawska and Waldemar Blatkauskas.
Honorable Mentions
1964 - Olympics
Brazil made it back-to-back bronzes at the Summer Games, a tournament performance that included wins over Yugoslavia, Korea, Finland, Uruguay, Australia and Puerto Rico. Wlamir Marques led the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game.
2024 - FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament
In the ultra competitive era of international basketball, Brazil went unbeaten and won the OQT in Riga to clinch a spot in the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris. Bruno Caboclo was the MVP of the event after averaging 17.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. This outstanding Brazil team also had Marcelinho Huertas, Yago Santos, Vitor Benite, Cristian Felicio, Gui Santos, Georginho De Paula, Leo Meindl, Rau Neto, Lucas Dias, Didi Louzada and Joao Cardoso.
1954 - FIBA Basketball World Cup
Brazil hosted the event and finished second, winning their first eight games before falling to USA in the battle for gold. Amaury Pasos (11.1 points per game), Wlamir Marques (10.6 points per game) and Angelo Bonifetti (10.8 points per game) were the country's top three scorers at the event.
2005 FIBA AmeriCup
Brazil stormed into the 2006 FIBA Basketball World Cup after winning the AmeriCup in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. The country peaked at the right time, beating the USA (93-75) and Argentina (100-88) in their last two games. Marcelinho Machado lived up to his reputation as one of the biggest scorers in the country's basketball history by averaging 23.4 points per game. The team was loaded, with Leandro Barbosa, Guilherme Giovannoni, Tiago Splitter, Alex Garcia, Nezinho Dos Santos, Anderson Varejao, Rafael Hettsheimeir and Marcelinho Huertas all suiting up for Brazil.
1948 Olympics
The first Brazilian side to reach the Olympic podium, the South Americans won seven of their eight games and were led by Alfredo Da Mottra's 14.4 points per game. Other big contributors included Zenny De Azevedo, Francisco Joao Braz, Pacheco De Oliveira, Ruy De Freitas, Massinet Sorcinelli, Alfonso Azevedo and Vinicius Dias Marcus. Brazil defeated Hungary, Uruguay, Great Britain, Canada, Italy and Czechoslovakia before falling for the first time to France in their penultimate game. They finished with a victory over Mexico in the Final Phase.
FIBA
*This Top Five and the honorable mentions are entirely subjective and in no way represent an official or accurate award, nor do they reflect FIBA's official stance. All comments are solely those of the author and expert panel, intended to entertain the fans.