A Guide to the Egypt Men’s Basketball Team
The Egypt men’s basketball team, nicknamed The Pharaohs, became the first African side to compete in the Olympic Games back in 1936. Since then, they’ve become the continent’s most successful team, helped by the fact they competed in EuroBasket until 1953, winning a gold medal in 1949, to go along with five AfroBasket titles and a fifth-place finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Discover more about the Egyptian men’s basketball team with this guide from the experts at Courtside 1891. Read on to discover more about the side’s storied history, former legends and current squad makeup.
2024 Olympics - Men's Basketball
The Georgia men's basketball team are confirmed as one of the 24 nations that will compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024, which you can stream live with Courtside 1891. The tournaments are currently scheduled for July 2-7 2024.
Four places remain to make up the twelve-team field that will compete at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The Olympic basketball events will take place between 27th July and 10th of August 2024. The nations currently confirmed to participate are France (host), South Sudan, Serbia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and the United States.
Along with Egypt, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon are the competing African nations.
From Europe, the competing Olympic qualifying tournament nations are Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Greece, Finland, Poland, Montenegro and Georgia.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico advanced from the Americas region, following positive results at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They will be joined by the Bahamas, who shocked Argentina in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in La Banda, Argentina.
From Asia and Oceania, the teams that advanced were Lebanon, the Philippines, New Zealand and Bahrain.
How Did Egypt Do At The FIBA World Cup 2023?
Here are the key stats from Japan's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 20th
- → Results: Played 5 Won 2 Lost 3
- → Top Points Scorer: Ehab Amin 97 PTS (19.4 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Ehab Amin 28 AST (5.6 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Ehab Amin 18.6 EPG
Egypt secured a top 20 finish thanks to a resounding 100-72 group win over Mexico and blowing past Jordan in the 32-17 classification round. While their up-and-down tournament ended with a frustrating 88-86 loss to New Zealand, Egypt enjoyed some good moments, led by Ehab Amin, who played 35 minutes a game to lead this squad in scoring and assists.
Check out free highlights from their best win against Mexico, below.
Team Presentation Video
Keen to learn more about The Pharaohs? This handy Team Discovery Video was produced prior to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, detailing the team’s greatest achievements and latest prospects in a bite-size guide.
Team Presentation - Egypt - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
Egypt Basketball World Cup Qualification
Ranked as the sixth-best side in Africa, Egypt’s qualification for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 was far from guaranteed before the qualification process began.
During the first phase of qualifying, the Egypt basketball team was drawn in Group D, alongside DR Congo, Senegal and Kenya. Despite being the second favorites for the group (behind Senegal), Egypt topped the group with a 5-1 record. They only lost their first game (an away game against Senegal).
In the second phase, they were drawn in Group F, alongside South Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia, DR Congo and Cameroon. With only two teams guaranteed to progress from this phase, Egypt once more performed admirably. Once results from the first phase were carried over, Egypt finished in second place behind South Sudan. This meant they outperformed both Senegal and Tunisia, who were ranked higher by FIBA.
They entered the World Cup ranked 30th out of 32 in the power rankings, so to finish in 20th and secure their first group phase win in World Cup play since 1994 will be deemed a success to many.
Best World Cup Qualifying Plays
Egypt’s roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers was spearheaded by Amr El Gendy, who featured in all 12 of his side’s games. Across 308 minutes of action, he poured in 151 points, grabbed more than 50 rebounds and dished out more than 30 assists, finishing with a cumulative +/- of +74.
His most impressive performance came against South Sudan. Although Egypt ultimately lost this game 97-77, Gendy poured in 42 points. This was a new record in African Qualifiers!
Egypt’s qualifying campaign created some standout moments. Check out the team’s best buckets, dishes and dimes by watching this video of their Top 10 plays.
Best Plays - Egypt - FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers 2023
Current Star Players
An extended Egypt squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup was announced on August 1, 2023. Coach Rana was able to call on a number of key players, including big man Assem Marei.
This 6ft 9in center is a commanding presence on the court. He first came to the world’s attention at the 2011 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, where he averaged the 3rd most points per game, the most steals per game and 2nd most rebounds per game across the tournament.
He also put in several standout performances for the Egypt basketball team at the 2013 edition of FIBA AfroBasket. Here he led the tournament in rebounding (averaging 11.6 per game) and was named to the All-Tournament Team. 2023 will mark his first appearance at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
He wasjoined at the big show by explosive point guard Ehab Amin Saleh and Captain Amr El Gendy Abdelhalim. Others named in the trimmed-down final squad included Anas Mahmoud, Khaled Abdelnasser Abdelgawad and Youssef Aboushousha.
Talented youngster, Karim Hatem Elgizawy, earned experience off the bench after a good showing in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 in Hungary. However, there is no place for 21-year-old Mohab Yasser, who made an appearance in coach Rana’s final qualifying squad. Naturalized NBA Summer League player, Patrick Gardner played an average of 22 minutes across the tournament before earning a training camp invite from the Brooklyn Nets.
Legends of the Team
A number of great basketball players have represented Egypt, including both Abdel Nader and Alaa Abdelnaby, who are the only two Egyptian players to ever feature in the NBA.
However, the recognized star of Egyptian basketball is Samir Gouda. At the 1994 edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, this talented center notched three double-doubles and tied the tournament record for the highest number of rebounds grabbed in a single game with 16. In his career, he also helped Egypt win two bronze medals at FIBA AfroBasket (2001 and 2003).
Historical World Cup Performance
Egypt has made six appearances at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. To date, their best performance (fifth) at the tournament came at the inaugural edition in 1950.
As well as being Egypt’s best performance at the tournament, this also remains the best result ever achieved by an African nation at the World Cup.
Previous Successes and Tournament Wins
Basketball Egypt has made seven appearances at the Olympic Games. But, the team has never managed to get near the podium. In fact, they’ve never reached the quarter-finals.
But, Egypt has been more successful at the continental level. Between 1937 and 1953, Egypt competed in European competitions. During this time, they claimed two medals at the FIBA EuroBasket, including one bronze and a gold.
Since 1962, the side have competed at FIBA AfroBasket. Here, they’ve claimed a joint-record 17 medals, including five golds. Egypt have hosted the tournament on six occasions and The Pharaohs have won a medal on the last four occasions as the host nation.
How to Watch Egypt Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can watch Egypt compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (FOQTs) 2024. We stream every game of FIBA international tournaments as well as other competitions from around the world.
As FIBA’s premium streaming partner for the World Cup, Courtside 1891 provided access to every 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup game! Watch the competition's biggest games and best moments on-demand on our FIBA Basketball World Cup page.
The best way to make sure that you never miss a single second of the upcoming action is to download our app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play, or sign up to our website platform. Please be aware that, due to broadcasting rights and restrictions, access to some games might be restricted depending on your location. See our where-to-watch page for full details of upcoming competitions.
Looking for the latest results from the world of basketball? Head over to the Courtside 1891 Game Center. Here you’ll also find matchup times in your country as well as easy-to-access game highlights you can watch when you register with Courtside 1891.
