1994 FIBA World Championship

1994 FIBA World Championship
FIBA Championnat du monde de basket-ball masculin 1994
Tournament details
Host countryCanada
CityToronto
Hamilton
DatesAugust 4–14
Officially opened byRay Hnatyshyn
Teams16 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)SkyDome
Maple Leaf Gardens
Copps Coliseum
Final positions
Champions United States (3rd title)
Runners-up Russia
Third place Croatia
Fourth place Greece
Tournament statistics
Games played64
MVPUnited States Shaquille O'Neal
Top scorerAustralia Andrew Gaze
(23.9 points per game)
1990
1998

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome[1] and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto[2] as well as at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.[2] The hosting duties were originally awarded to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but after United Nations limited participation in sporting events in Yugoslavia, Toronto stepped in as a replacement option in 1992.

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the first time that the FIBA World Championship (now called the FIBA Basketball World Cup) allowed current American NBA players that had already played in an official NBA regular season game to participate. Prior to that only professionals from other leagues were allowed to compete, since players from other leagues were still considered amateurs.[3]

The tournament was won by the United States's "Dream Team II", who beat Russia 137–91 in the Final. The United States finished with a perfect 8–0 record (8 wins and 0 losses). The bronze medal was won by Croatia who beat Greece 78–60 in the bronze-medal game.

  1. ^ The New York Times, BASKETBALL; Dream Team Ends Its Sequel Predictably
  2. ^ a b The New York Times, Sports of The Times; Toronto, Dream Team, The World
  3. ^ "Why Can Pros Complete in International Events". Archived from the original on January 20, 2015.