A guide to the Brazil Men’s Basketball Team
The Brazil men’s basketball team is one of the most successful in the Americas. Across the side’s history, they’ve packed their trophy cabinet with two FIBA Basketball World Cup golds, four FIBA AmeriCup golds and 18 golds at the FIBA South American Championship. They’ve also claimed the bronze medal at the Olympic Games on three occasions.
Discover more about the Brazilian men’s basketball team with this guide from the experts at Courtside 1891. Below you’ll find details about the side’s history, their best achievements and their legendary players.
2024 Olympics - Men's Basketball
The Brazil 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.
Brazil, Puerto Rico, 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 Europe, the competing Olympic qualifying tournament nations are Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Greece, Georgia, Finland, Poland and Montenegro.
Egypt, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon are the competing African nations.
From Asia and Oceania, the teams that advanced were Lebanon, the Philippines, New Zealand and Bahrain.
How Did Brazil Do At The FIBA World Cup 2023?
Here are the top stats from Brazil's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 13th
- → Results: Played 5 Won 3 Lost 2
- → Top Points Scorer: Bruno Caboclo 82 PTS (16.4 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Yogi Santos 36 AST (7.2 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Bruno Caboclo 20.8 EPG
Brazil provided plenty of memorable moments, with their biggest scalp coming against Canada in the Second Group Phase. Brazil and Caboclo in particular scored 16 more points in the paint and produced 13 more points from turnovers. Despite this dominance, it was a tight affair, finishing with only a four-point victory for the South Americans.
Team Presentation Video
Keen to learn more about Brazil follow this year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup? Watch the Team Discovery Video below.
Team Presentation - Brazil - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
Brazil Basketball World Cup Qualification
The Brazil basketball team started the first round of FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification in Group B, alongside Uruguay, Colombia and Chile. They quickly set about dominating the competition, winning their first five games. They were denied a perfect 6-0 record by Colombia, who defeated Brazil 104-98 in double overtime in their final group game.
Brazil then progressed to the second qualification round, where they featured in Group F alongside the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Uruguay and Colombia.
Facing improved opposition, they struggled to a 3-3 record. However, they did notch up two memorable wins against the United States, including a road win in Washington!
In Brazil’s final game, they needed to beat the United States in order to qualify for the World Cup. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened. Power Forward Bruno Caboclo scored 21 points while teammate Yago dos Santos scored 17 points and dished out 8 assists in an 83-76 home win.
This statement win meant that Brazil finished their qualifying campaign in fourth place in Group B, with an 8-4 record (results from the first phase of qualifying are carried over to the second phase).
With only one fourth-placed team eligible for qualification, Brazil pipped Argentina (who came fourth in Group E) to the final spot at the World Cup. Although both sides finished with an 8-4 record and 20 points, Brazil finished with a higher overall points difference (+175 vs +79).
Best World Cup Qualifying Plays
Throughout qualification, coach De Conti relied on a solid core of players. The squad was led by Georginho De Paula, who played in all 12 games. Meanwhile, Lucas Mariano appeared in 11 games and shining talents, Bruno Caboclo and Yago dos Santos, both played 10 times.
It was Caboclo who was the undeniable star of qualifying for Brazil. Not only did he lead the team to two memorable wins against the USA, but he also ended the campaign with a noteworthy stat line that included 149 points, 72 rebounds and 14 blocks. He ended the campaign with a cumulative +/- of 144 and an efficiency rating of 189, leading the team in all five of these categories!
While Caboclo was central to Brazil’s success, a number of players produced some typically Brazilian highlight-reel plays that showed off their samba style. Check out the team’s best moments from qualification by watching this video of their Top 10 plays.
Best Plays - Brazil - FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers 2023
Current Star Players
At the World Cup, Brazilian fans were hoping that star Power Forward Bruno Caboclo could repeat his heroics from the side’s qualifying games against the United States when he put the team on his back.
Caboclo, a seven-year NBA-level vet who was drafted 20th overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2014 has previously represented his country at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup and at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Domestically, he won the Basketball Bundesliga title and was named to the All-German BBL First Team last season.
Caboclo was joined in the squad by star guards Marcelinho Huertas and Yago Santos. Huertas is a fan favorite and has featured at every World Cup since 2006, while Santos was just named as the MVP of the Basketball Bundesliga Finals.
Legends of the Team
On the streets of Rio and São Paulo, one Brazilian basketball player is held in greater regard than any other: Oscar Schmidt. Known by the locals as ‘Mão Santa’ (Holy Hand), Schmidt is considered to be the all-time leading scorer in the history of basketball, with 54,145 career points across his pro club career and his time with the national team. He’s also the top scorer in the history of the Olympic Games and the top scorer in the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Schmidt made his World Cup debut with Brazil in 1978, when he helped his country win bronze. He went on to play in four tournaments. During this time, he scored 906 points.
In his trophy cabinet, you’ll also find three FIBA South American Championship golds and one Pan American Games gold. These sit beside one FIBA AmeriCup bronze medal, two FIBA South American Championship silvers and a Pan American Games bronze.
Schmidt’s status in the game is so great that he’s been inducted into three different halls of fame: the FIBA Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame.
Historical World Cup Performance
The Brazil basketball team holds the distinction of being one of only two teams that have qualified for every edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup (the other is the USA).
In 19 tournament appearances, they’ve done more than make up the numbers. They’ve claimed two gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals.
That said, they have been less competitive in recent years. They earned their last medal 45 years ago.
Previous Successes and Tournament Wins
It’s a similar story for Basketball Brazil at the Olympics. Although the side regularly features at the Games and has won three bronze medals, the last of these came all the way back at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Things have been much more positive for Brazil in recent years at the FIBA AmeriCup. Not only did the side claim silver at their home tournament last year, but they’ve claimed four gold medals, three silver medals and four bronze medals at this illustrious tournament since 1980.
And things are even more positive still for Brazil at the FIBA South American Championship. Here they own the record for the highest number of tournament wins with 18.
How to Watch Brazil Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can watch Brazil 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.
