Basketball in Lithuania

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Basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania.^[2][3][4] During public opinion polls in Lithuania, the Lithuanians regularly describe basketball as their priority interest sport (e.g. 43,8% in 2003, 53,4% in 2010).^[5][6] A research in 2015 indicated that nearly 41% of all population in Lithuania watched the EuroBasket 2015 final between Lithuania and Spain and it became the most watched event of the 21st century in Lithuania.^[7][8] The popularity of basketball among Lithuanians led to it being nicknamed as the "second religion" in Lithuania.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Lithuanian-American basketball coaches and players in the 1930s helped the Lithuania men's national basketball team win the last EuroBasket tournaments prior to World War II, in 1937 and 1939, causing a massive impact in Lithuanian society and a basketball popularity spike. Since then, despite Lithuania's small size, with a population of just almost 2.9 million, the country's devotion to basketball has made them a traditional force of the sport in Europe.^[1]

Following the country's occupation by the Soviet Union during the war, Lithuanian players frequently formed the core of the Soviet national team, and the Lithuanian people strongly supported local club BC Žalgiris, particularly against Russian squads. After the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the national team was resurrected, with their first official tournament being the 1992 Olympics, where they won a bronze medal. The Lithuanians have since won another two bronzes at the Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and five EuroBasket medals, including the country's third title at FIBA EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden.

At the professional club level, Žalgiris of Kaunas won the top-tier EuroLeague in 1999 and the second-tier FIBA Saporta Cup in 1998 and was also the FIBA Intercontinental Cup champion in 1986 under Soviet occupation. BC Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius won two times the second-tier EuroCup, in 2005 and 2009.

While basketball started being played in Lithuania by women, the women's national team has not achieved the same success as the male one, despite a title at EuroBasket Women 1997.

In 2015, the Lithuania men's national basketball team (European vice-champions that year) was ranked third in the FIBA Men's World Ranking (at the time surpassed only by the Olympic champions United States and European champions Spain men's national basketball teams).^[13] Moreover, the Lithuania men's national basketball team managed to defeat the United States men's national team three times in major international tournaments: twice in the FIBA World Championships/World Cups (1998, 2023) and once in the Olympic Games (2004).^[14] As of 2023, a total of 18 Lithuanian basketball players were recognized as the Lithuanian Sportsman of the Year (the nomination was started since 1956).^[15]