NIGERIA’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, have suffered a major setback in their global standing, falling 11 places in the latest FIBA world rankings released on Thursday, now sitting in 53rd position.
News Point Nigeria Sports reports that this decline follows Nigeria’s performance at the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket tournament in Angola last month, where they reached the quarterfinals but failed to progress further after a tough 91–75 loss to Senegal.
According to the September update by the world basketball governing body, D’Tigers dropped from 42nd in March 2025 to 53rd globally, amassing 248.7 ranking points, down from 297.8 points earlier in the year.
The dip also saw the team slip from sixth to eighth place in Africa, placing them behind continental powerhouses such as South Sudan, Angola, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Senegal, and Cape Verde.
Nigeria was listed among the biggest droppers globally, alongside Morocco, Tunisia, Virgin Islands, and Kosovo. Meanwhile, Mali, South Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, and Jamaica were recognized as some of the biggest climbers in the rankings.
Led by coach Mohammed Abdulrahman, D’Tigers had a promising group-stage campaign, topping Group B after victories over Madagascar, Tunisia (three-time AfroBasket champions), and Cameroon.
However, their journey ended abruptly in the quarterfinals after a disappointing loss to Senegal, despite strong individual showings from Caleb Agada, Josh Okogie, Stan Okoye, and Ike Nwamu.
Basketball Pundit, Bello Bidemi told News Point Nigeria Sports that Nigeria’s ranking drop partly to a lack of smooth preparations before the tournament, citing logistical issues, late arrivals of key players, and insufficient warm-up games as factors that affected team chemistry
With AfroBasket now behind them, Nigeria’s focus shifts to the FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifiers, scheduled to begin in November 2025.
The qualifiers represent a crucial opportunity for Nigeria to book a ticket to the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar, having failed to qualify for the 2023 edition in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
Nigeria last appeared at the global tournament in 2019 in China, under then-head coach Alex Nwora, where they recorded a respectable 3-2 finish in the classification round.
On the African continent, South Sudan remains the top-ranked nation with 446.7 points, despite slipping slightly in the global table from 23rd to 24th position. Newly crowned AfroBasket champions, Angola, moved up four spots to become Africa’s number two and 29th worldwide.
Other African heavyweights completing the continental top 10 include Ivory Coast, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Mali.
Globally, the United States continue their dominance, holding on to the No. 1 spot with 845.8 points, followed by Germany (the reigning world champions), Serbia, France, and Canada, rounding out the top five.
