Ivory Coast men's national basketball team

Côte d'Ivoire
FIBA ranking	31 (26 November 2024)
Joined FIBA	1961
FIBA zone	FIBA Africa
National federation	Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball
Coach	Natxo Lezkano
Nickname(s)	Les Éléphants; (The Elephants)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	5
AfroBasket
Appearances	24
Medals	Gold (1981, 1985); Silver (1978, 1980, 2009, 2021)
AfroCan
Appearances	2
Medals	Silver (2023)
Home	Away

The Ivory Coast men's national basketball team is the men's basketball side that represents Ivory Coast in international competition. The team competes regularly in the African Championship and is administered by the Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball.^[2]

With two AfroBasket titles and six overall finals appearances, the country is traditionally home to one of the continent's finest basketball national teams. The Elephants have played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup four times and also played in the 2023 edition.

History

Ivory Coast reached the final of the FIBA Africa Championship for the first time in 1978, but they were defeated by Senegal in the final. They reached the final again in the following tournament, in 1980, but again had to settle for silver, as Senegal took the gold. Another run the following year, in 1981, saw Côte d'Ivoire finally break through and win their first title, as they defeated Egypt for the championship. Four years later, Côte d'Ivoire won their second championship, as they hosted the tournament in 1985, and beat Angola, to win the championship. Côte d'Ivoire finished second at the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship, for their first podium finish since their victory in 1985. They participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, which was their first FIBA World Cup appearance since 1986. The team went 1–4 at the tournament, finishing last in Group C. On 2 September 2010, In their final group game, the Ivorians defeated Puerto Rico 88–76, for their first ever FIBA World Cup win, but they came up just short in the tiebreaker to see which team would advance to the knockout stage.^[3]

Ivory Coast qualified for the 2019 FIBA World Championship in dramatic and extraordinary circumstances. After only narrowly avoiding elimination in the first qualifying round (they finished 3rd in their group and only qualified because they held the tiebreaker to Mozambique), they needed to win their last three games in the final group by a combined margin of 66 points in order to qualify as the best-ranked third-placed team. They remarkably did so (actually, they won by a combined 73 points), dispatching even African powerhouses and already-qualified Nigeria by a score of 72–46 in the process. Combined with a loss for the Central African Republic against Nigeria, Ivory Coast finished third in the group and qualified for the World Championship by virtue of a better total points difference than Cameroon.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	GP	W	L
FIBA World Cup record						Qualification record
1963	did not qualify					AfroBasket served as qualification
1967
1970
1974
1978
1982	Classification round	13th	5	0	5
1986	Preliminary round	23rd	5	0	5
1990	did not qualify
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010	Preliminary round	21st	5	1	4
2014	did not qualify
2019	Classification round	29th	5	0	5	12	7	5
2023	Classification round	27th	5	1	4	12	10	2
2027	To be determined					To be determined
	5/17		25	2	23	24	17	7

FIBA Africa Championship

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
1962	did not enter
1964
1965
1968	Seventh place	7th	7	4	3
1970	did not qualify
1972	Tenth place	10th	6	1	5
1974	did not qualify
1975	did not qualify
1978	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	2
1980	Runners-up	2nd	7	5	2
1981	Champions	1st	7	6	1
1983	Fourth place	4th	6	3	3
1985	Champions	1st	7	6	1
1987	Classification stage	7th	5	2	3
1989	Classification stage	5th	7	4	3
1992	Preliminary round	11th	5	1	4
1993	Classification stage	6th	5	2	3
1995	Classification stage	7th	5	3	2
1997	Classification stage	8th	5	1	4
1999	Eight place	8th	6	2	4
2001	Classification stage	8th	6	2	4
2003	Eleventh place	11th	6	2	4
2005	Classification stage	10th	7	3	4
2007	Quarterfinals	8th	6	2	4
2009	Runners-up	2nd	9	5	4
2011	Fourth place	4th	8	3	5
2013	Fourth place	4th	7	5	2
2015	Round of 16	12th	5	2	3
2017	Preliminary round	14th	3	0	3
2021	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	1
2025	to be determined
Total			147	73	74

FIBA AfroCan

Runners-up

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
2019	Tenth place	10th	3	0	3
2023	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	1
Total			9	5	4

African Games

1978 –
1987 –
2003 – 4th
2007 – 6th
2011 – 8th
2015 – 7th

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.^[4]^[5]

Ivory Coast men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
PG	0	Assémian Moularé	20 – (2003-01-21)21 January 2003	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	Vichy-Clermont
SF	1	Charles Abouo	33 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Le Portel
PG	2	Bazoumana Kone	29 – (1993-12-13)13 December 1993	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Karlsruhe Lions
PF	3	Amadou Sidibé	29 – (1994-03-25)25 March 1994	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	Peñarol
SF	4	Patrick Tapé	25 – (1998-06-08)8 June 1998	2.14 m (7 ft 0 in)	Caledonia Gladiators
SG	7	Maxence Dadiet	24 – (1999-03-02)2 March 1999	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	Toulouse
F	8	Mike Fofana	25 – (1997-10-05)5 October 1997	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	ABC Fighters
PG	10	Solo Diabate	36 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	Petro de Luanda
SF	12	Vafessa Fofana	31 – (1992-06-12)12 June 1992	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Gravelines-Dunkerque
C	23	Cédric Bah (C)	29 – (1994-05-11)11 May 1994	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Vichy-Clermont
SG	45	Nisre Zouzoua	27 – (1996-07-16)16 July 1996	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	Aix Maurienne
SF	77	Jean-Philippe Dally	27 – (1996-03-08)8 March 1996	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Champagne Basket

Head coach

Dejan Prokić

Assistant coach(es)

Miloš Gligorijević

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the tournament
Age – describes age
on 25 August 2023

Notable players

Other current notable players from Ivory Coast:

Ivory Coast roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
G	Pape-Philippe Amagou	32 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	Le Mans Sarthe Basket
G/F	Guy Landry Edi	28 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Saint-Chamond Basket
F/C	Herve Lamizana	36 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Yulon Luxgen
PF	Herve Toure	35 – (1982-02-25)25 February 1982	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	Estudiantes Concordia
C	Louri Frejus Zerbo	28 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989	2.09 m (6 ft 10 in)	Limoges CSP Elite
C	Mohamed Bamba	19 – (1998-05-12)12 May 1998	2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)	Orlando Magic

Legend

Club – describes current club
Age – describes age on 8 June 2017

Past rosters

Team for the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship.

Ivory Coast national basketball team roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
F	4	Charles Abouo	23 – (1989-11-04)4 November 1989	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	CB Peñas Huesca
G	5	Mouloukou Diabate	26 – (1987-07-21)21 July 1987	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	SLUC Nancy Basket
F	6	Issife Soumahoro	24 – (1988-10-31)31 October 1988	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Strasbourg IG
G	7	Pape-Philippe Amagou	28 – (1985-02-27)27 February 1985	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	Chorale Roanne Basket
G	8	Kinidinnin Konate	32 – (1980-08-23)23 August 1980	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	Abidjan Basket Club
C	9	Hervé Lamizana	32 – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
F	10	Ismaël N'Diaye	31 – (1982-04-20)20 April 1982	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Basket-club Boncourt
G	11	Mickaël Toti	26 – (1987-04-11)11 April 1987	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	Reims Champagne Basket
C	12	Jonathan Kale	27 – (1985-10-18)18 October 1985	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	CB Coruña
C	13	Louri Zerbo	24 – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	BCM Gravelines
F	14	Guy Edi	24 – (1988-12-26)26 December 1988	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Gonzaga
F	15	Mohamed Koné	32 – (1981-03-24)24 March 1981	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	Chorale Roanne Basket