German Democratic Republic national basketball team

GDR

FIBA ranking	defunct
Joined FIBA	1959
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	?
Coach	none
Olympic Games
Appearances	none
Medals	none
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	none
Medals	none
Eurobasket
Appearances	5
Medals	none
Home Away

East Germany's national basketball team represented the German Democratic Republic between 1955 and 1973. Its biggest success was at the EuroBasket 1963 in Wrocław when it finished 6th out of 16.

History

After second world war, only one German national basketball team existed. At the Eurobasket 1953, a unified German team competed with 4 eastern German players and finished 14th. At the Eurobasket 1959 in Istanbul, unlike its counterpart from West Germany, the east German national team qualified for the eurobasket but only finished 14th out of 17.
The first German-German duel was played 1960 at the qualification to the Summer Olympics. Despite the lack of popularity of basketball in East Germany, it took the West German basketball team until 1973 to earn its first victory over the East Germans who displayed disciplined playing styles.
At the Eurobasket 1961 in Belgrade, East Germany finished 12th out of 19, 4 spots better than West Germany.
Overall, the national basketball team of East Germany had its biggest success at the Eurobasket 1963 in Wrocław. After four victories and three losses in the preliminary round, East Germany went as the third seed (behind the tournament winner Soviet Union and silver medalist Poland) in Group B. Since only the first two places advanced to the semi-finals, East Germany had to play against Belgium and Bulgaria in the relegation. After declassifying Belgium 81:35, East Germany lost 62:77 against Bulgaria. According to many experts, East Germany was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.
At the Eurobasket 1965 in Moscow/Tbilisi, the East German team could not repeat its impressive performance two years earlier. Still, it outperformed its West German competitors by 4 spots and finished 10th out of 16. At its last appearance at a Eurobasket 1967 in Helsinki/Tampere, East Germany finished 14th out of 16. West Germany did not qualify for the tournament. Despite some solid performances at European basketball competitions, East Germany's national basketball team never qualified for the world championships or the summer olympics.

The end

In 1969 the Socialist Unity Party of Germany decided to focus its support primarily towards those sports that were most likely to win medals and earn points at international competitions. Since basketball is a teamsport where, in contrast to individual sports, the whole team can only win a single olympic medal, it lost considerable government support. Eventually, the SED banned its basketball players from traveling to non-socialist countries and immensely limited the sponsorship and promotion of talents. Soon, this meant the end of East German international basketball success, which ceded completely after 1973.

Competitions

Performance at Eurobasket

Year	Position	Tournament	Host
1959	14	Eurobasket 1959	Istanbul, Turkey
1961	12	Eurobasket 1961	Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1963	6	Eurobasket 1963	Wrocław, Poland
1965	10	Eurobasket 1965	Moscow, Soviet Union
1967	14	Eurobasket 1967	Helsinki, Finland