EuroBasket 2025: Teams, Stars & Favorites at a Glance

From August 27 to September 14, 2025, Europe's basketball elite will converge on the 2025 European Basketball Championship. The FIBA EuroBasket will be held in four countries, with 24 nations competing for the title. The preliminary round will be held in Limassol (Cyprus), Tampere (Finland), Katowice (Poland), and Riga (Latvia), with the final round taking place in the Latvian capital. The format remains unchanged and as usual: four groups of six teams each, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the round of 16, from which point on, a knockout format will apply.

Read here which teams are participating and which NBA stars will be on the court.

A total of 24 nations will compete at EuroBasket 2025. In addition to established favorites, there will also be returning teams and tournament newcomers. The four host countries, Cyprus , Finland , Poland , and Latvia , are among the confirmed starters.

With Latvia and Finland, two hosts have a realistic chance of capitalizing on home advantage—a factor that has often been decisive at past European Championships. Poland aims to advance past the group stage in front of their home crowd in Katowice, while debutant Cyprus could make sports history with just a win.

After 14 years, Portugal is also back in the European Championship field, counting on NBA center Neemias Queta as their hope. Sweden is celebrating its return to the big stage after last participating in 2013.

The field of participants and the groups at a glance:

• Group A: Serbia, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Cyprus
• Group B: Germany , Montenegro, Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, Lithuania
• Group C: Greece, Slovenia, Spain, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia
• Group D: France, Italy, Israel, Czech Republic, Belgium, Iceland

EuroBasket 2025 is not only a showdown between the best teams, but also a showcase for some of the biggest names in world basketball:

• First and foremost, Nikola Jokić : The Serbian superstar and three-time NBA MVP brings a combination of shooting power, game vision, and physical presence rarely seen on the basketball court. His impressive record from last season: averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to lead Greece to European Championship gold for the first time since 2005 – with his unique combination of athleticism and drive to the basket. However, the Greek has recently struggled with injury problems.
• Luka Dončić joined the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the year after a spectacular trade from Dallas and extended his contract there shortly before the European Championship. He is leading Slovenia at the European Championship as an exceptional player who can single-handedly decide matches.
• Germany relies on the duo Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner , who already made the difference in the 2023 World Cup title.
• For Spain, the Hernangómez brothers are back, especially Willy Hernangómez as the team leader.
• Young stars also want to use the spotlight for themselves and their country: France relies on talented Bilal Coulibaly , while Alperen Sengün leads Turkey with versatility, creativity and NBA experience.

Shortly before the start of the tournament, the world governing body FIBA traditionally publishes its so-called "Power Ranking" – a subjective assessment of the current strength of all 24 European Championship participants. Unlike the official world rankings, this ranking is not based on a point system or past tournaments, but rather on a combination of squad quality, current form, and results in warm-up matches. It primarily serves as a kind of barometer of mood and form.

Before the European Championship, the basketball association FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball) traditionally publishes a so-called power ranking, which ranks the teams according to overall strength and chances.

Source: © Copyright FIBA Basketball

In the latest FIBA rankings, Serbia leads the field – led by Bogdan Bogdanović and Nikola Milutinov, but with a coach who, despite high expectations, urges caution. Germany follows, which, with Schröder and Wagner, has already shown World Cup form in training. France completes the top three, despite the absences of Wembanyama, Gobert, and Fournier. The biggest surprise is Turkey in fourth place, while host country Latvia is in the top five in fifth.

This year, the question of who will be the favorite is more open than ever before. Among the closest contenders are:

• With Nikola Jokić, Bogdan Bogdanović and a deep rotation, Serbia probably brings the highest individual quality to the tournament, but will have to assert themselves in a challenging preliminary round group.
• Germany travels to the tournament as the reigning world champions – with a well-rehearsed core of Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis, and Franz Wagner. In addition, there are versatile role players who repeatedly make decisive contributions, most notably Andreas Obst, arguably one of the tournament's most accurate three-point shooters. This combination was already the key to winning the title in 2023.
• Spain enters the tournament as defending champions, but suffers a major setback: Lorenzo Brown, a key player in the 2022 European Championship triumph, is out. The Panathinaikos Athens playmaker was firmly planned as the central point guard in coach Sergio Scariolo's system. Nevertheless, thanks to its well-rehearsed system and the experience of its key players, Spain remains a serious medal contender. The team is led by Willy Hernangómez, who plays for FC Barcelona after years in the NBA. He is supported by his brother Juan Hernangómez (Panathinaikos Athens) as well as NBA pros Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies) and Eli John Ndiaye (Atlanta Hawks).
• France will have to make do without its defensive pillars and stars such as Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert and Mathias Lessort, but could benefit from the reduced pressure of expectations.
• With Luka Dončić, Slovenia has a player in top form who can single-handedly shape a tournament. However, according to experts, the squad lacks depth, which increases the dependence on the superstar.

Behind the big names lurk teams that could make headlines at any time:

• Greece is counting on superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who enters the tournament highly motivated after a strong NBA season. Even though key players like Georgios Papagiannis are missing, Giannis' presence makes the Greeks a dangerous opponent capable of entering the title race at any time.
• Turkey is considered a major uncertainty factor – for some experts a sure semi-finalist, for others not even a team for the top 10.
• Latvia, on the other hand, wants to show that home advantage at EuroBasket can inspire exceptional performances.
• Lithuania brings a physically strong team that surprisingly defeated the USA at the 2023 World Cup.
• Finland is looking to confirm its 2022 quarter-final appearance and can be an unpleasant opponent in front of their home crowd in Tampere – led by Lauri Markkanen and his fast, physical style of play.
• Finally, Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Jusuf Nurkić under the basket, could shake up even their favorite opponents.