Finland men's national basketball team

Finland
FIBA ranking	20 (1 March 2024)
Joined FIBA	1939
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Basketball Finland
Coach	Henrik Dettmann
Nickname(s)	Susijengi; (The Wolf Pack)
Olympic Games
Appearances	2
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	1
Medals	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	16
Medals	None
Home	Away

The Finland national basketball team (Finnish: Suomen kansallinen koripallojoukkue, Swedish: Finlands herrlandslag i basket), also known as nickname The Wolf Pack (Finnish: Susijengi, Swedish: Vargflocken), represents Finland in international basketball competition. The team is governed by Basketball Finland.

Finland has played in 16 EuroBasket tournaments, with their best finish coming in sixth place at EuroBasket 1967 on home soil. The national team also has reached the Summer Olympics twice, in 1952 as the host, and 1964. In 2014 Finland qualified for their first ever appearance to the FIBA World Cup.

Since 2011, Finland has had the highest FIBA World Ranking among Nordic countries.

History

Early years

The Finnish Basketball Association was founded in February 1939. A few months earlier the Finnish Football Federation had decided to add basketball to its own repertoire. Finland first competed at the European championship at its third installment, the EuroBasket 1939. In the round-robin, they initially struggled and lost to each of the other seven teams and finished with a 70–541 overall point differential.

1950s

Finland playing against Mexico at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Finland's next European competition was 12 years later, at the EuroBasket 1951 in Paris. Overall, they fared much better and split their four preliminary round games and finished at third place in the group at 2–2 but were eliminated from championship contention. They had success after that, winning all three of their classification round 1 games and both round 2 games to finish in 9th place of the 18 teams.

In 1952, by virtue of hosting the games in Helsinki, Finland played at the Summer Olympics for the first time. The national team finished at the bottom of Group B in the preliminary round losing all of its game to the Soviet Union, Bulgaria and Mexico, and failing to advance.^[2]

Finland used this international experience when they competed again at the EuroBasket 1953 in Moscow. In the preliminary round, they finished with 1 win and 3 losses for 4th place of the 5 teams in the group. They fared significantly better in the first classification round, winning 3 and losing only 1 to finish in the middle of a three-way tie in the group. They lost both the 9–12 and 11/12 classification games, however, taking 12th place of 17 overall.

At the next event, Finland had some difficulty in the preliminary round of EuroBasket 1955. They lost all three early games in Budapest and were relegated to the classification round. Once again, not faced with the world elite opponents anymore, the Fins shone in the classification round and won all four of the pool play games. They won their classification 9–12 match as well, but lost to France in the 9/10 final to finish 10th of 18 in the tournament.

In Sofia, at the EuroBasket 1957, the Finns finished third in their preliminary group after going 1–2. They moved to the 9–16 classification pool and won five games there with only one loss. They took 11th place overall in the tournament.

Modern era

At the EuroBasket 1995 in Greece, was Finland's first qualification to the top European basketball tournament since 1977. The national team did not fair too well at the event though. As they were routed in their first match against Russia 126-74, and ultimately led to them finishing with an 0-6 record (13th place) and eliminated.

Finland qualified for the EuroBasket 2011. The tournament berth was the first for Finland in 16 years. There they finished third out of six teams in EuroBasket 2011 Group C and defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 92–64 and Montenegro 71–65. This allowed them to they qualify for the EuroBasket 2011 Group F. In their first match they were easily defeated by Russia but afterwards they defeated Georgia, before losing to Slovenia in their final match of the tournament. Despite not making it to the best of 8 tournament, Finland ended up making it to their first ever FIBA World Cup as a wild card team alongside Greece, Turkey, and Brazil.

Competitive record

EuroBasket

EuroBasket					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1939	8th	7	0	7
1946	Did not qualify
1947
1949
1951	9th	9	7	2
1953	12th	10	4	6
1955	10th	9	5	4
1957	11th	10	6	4
1959	13th	7	2	5
1961	14th	7	3	4
1963	14th	9	2	7	Directly qualified
1965	12th	9	3	6
1967	6th	9	6	3
1969	Did not qualify				4	0	4
1971					4	1	3
1973					7	2	5
1975	Did not enter				Did not enter
1977	10th	7	1	6	5	3	2
1979	Did not qualify				10	3	7
1981					5	2	3
1983					12	2	10
1985					12	4	8
1987					12	3	9
1989					9	3	6
1991					3	0	3
1993					4	2	2
1995	14th	6	0	6	12	9	3
1997	Did not qualify				10	3	7
1999					3	2	1
2001					16	10	6
2003					6	3	3
2005	Division B				6	3	3
2007	Division B				10	8	2
2009	Did not qualify				12	5	7
2011	9th	8	3	5	12	5	7
2013	9th	8	5	3	8	6	2
2015	16th	6	2	4	Directly qualified
2017	11th	6	4	2	Directly qualified
2021	To be determined				To be determined
Total	16/38	127	53	74	182	79	103

FIBA World Cup

World Cup					Qualification
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1950	Did not qualify				5	2	3
1954
1959
1963
1967
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014	22nd	5	1	4	Wild card
2019	Did not qualify				12	6	6
2023	To be determined				To be determined
Total	1/18	5	1	4	17	8	9

Olympic Games

Olympic Games					Qualifying
Year	Position	Pld	W	L	Pld	W	L
1948	Did not qualify
1952	9th	3	0	3
1956	Did not qualify
1960	Did not qualify
1964	11th	9	4	5	8	7	1
1968	Did not qualify				9	4	5
1972					7	2	5
1976					5	1	4
1980					4	1	3
1984					3	1	2
1988					4	2	2
1992
1996 to 2020
2024	To be determined
Total	2/19	12	4	8	40	18	22

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification.

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
SG	4	Mikko Koivisto	30 – (1987-04-18)18 April 1987	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Salon Vilpas Vikings
F	5	Alex Murphy	24 – (1993-06-03)3 June 1993	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Kataja BC
SF	7	Shawn Huff (C)	33 – (1984-05-05)5 May 1984	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	Skyliners Frankfurt
SF	7	Juho Nenonen	30 – (1987-09-12)12 September 1987	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Vilpas Vikings
F	8	Mikael Jantunen	17 – (2000-04-20)20 April 2000	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	HBA-Marsky Helsinki
G	8	Roope Ahonen	37 – (1980-06-12)12 June 1980	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	Kolossos Rodou B.C.
SG	9	Sasu Salin	26 – (1991-06-11)11 June 1991	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	Gran Canaria
SG	9	Antti Kanervo	28 – (1989-04-12)12 April 1989	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	Chorale Roanne
F/C	11	Tuukka Kotti	36 – (1981-03-18)18 March 1981	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)	Crailsheim Merlins
PG	11	Petteri Koponen	29 – (1988-04-13)13 April 1988	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Barcelona
SF	12	Matti Nuutinen	27 – (1990-05-06)6 May 1990	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Chorale Roanne
F/C	20	Alexander Madsen	22 – (1995-01-26)26 January 1995	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	USK Praha
G	21	Ville Tahvanainen	17 – (2000-06-30)30 June 2000	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	HBA-Marsky Helsinki
SF	22	Carl Lindbom	26 – (1991-11-10)10 November 1991	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	BC Juventus
PF	23	Lauri Markkanen	20 – (1997-05-20)20 May 1997	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)	Chicago Bulls
PG	33	Jamar Wilson	33 – (1984-02-22)22 February 1984	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	JSF Nanterre
F/C	33	Erik Murphy	27 – (1990-10-26)26 October 1990	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	JSF Nanterre
PF	33	Ozan Odabasi	22 – (1995-08-08)8 August 1995	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	Trabzonspor B.K.
PG	34	Fiifi Aidoo	21 – (1996-04-05)5 April 1996	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)	Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball
G	35	Ilari Seppala	24 – (1993-04-27)27 April 1993	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	Kataja BC
SG	41	Topias Palmi	23 – (1994-08-26)26 August 1994	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Tampereen Pyrintö

Head coach

Henrik Dettmann

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the tournament
Age – describes age
on 24 November 2017

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Lauri Markkanen	Tuukka Kotti
PF	Gerald Lee	Erik Murphy
SF	Shawn Huff	Matti Nuutinen	Carl Lindbom
SG	Sasu Salin	Mikko Koivisto
PG	Petteri Koponen	Jamar Wilson	Teemu Rannikko

Head coach position

Henrik Dettmann – (1995 - 96, 2004 - present)

Past rosters

1939 EuroBasket: finished 8th among 8 teams

3 Martti Salminen, 4 Kalevi Ihalainen, 5 Ilkka Törrönen, 6 Erkki Saurala, 8 Pentti Vuollekoski, 9 Pauli Sarkkula, 10 Heinonen, 11 Erkki Lindén, 12 Vladi Marmo, 13 Reino Valtonen, 14 Alo Suurna (Coach: Osmo Kupiainen)

1951 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 17 teams

3 Oiva Virtanen, 4 Raimo Lindholm, 5 Juhani Kyöstilä, 6 Timo Suviranta, 7 Pentti Laaksonen, 8 Raine Nuutinen, 9 Kalevi Sylander, 11 Arto Koivisto, 12 Pertti Mutru, 13 Kalevi Heinänen, 14 Kaj Gustafsson, 15 Olli Arppe, 16 Allan Pietarinen, 17 Tapio Pöyhönen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)

1952 Olympic Games: finished 15th among 23 teams

3 Juhani Kyöstilä, 4 Raine Nuutinen, 5 Raimo Lindholm, 6 Timo Suviranta, 7 Kalevi Heinänen, 8 Pentti Laaksonen, 9 Oiva Virtanen, 10 Esko Karhunen, 11 Eero Salonen, 12 Pertti Mutru, 13 Tapio Pöyhönen (Coach: ?)

1953 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 17 teams

3 Timo Lampen, 4 Raine Nuutinen, 5 Raimo Lindholm, 6 Timo Suviranta, 7 Keijo Hynninen, 8 Kalevi Heinänen, 9 Pentti Laaksonen, 10 Oiva Virtanen, 11 Eero Salonen, 12 Kaj Gustafsson, 13 Pertti Mutru, 14 Allan Pietarinen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)

1955 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 18 teams

3 Timo Lampén, 4 Raine Nuutinen, 5 Raimo Lindholm, 6 Timo Suviranta, 7 Kalevi Heinänen, 8 Oiva Virtanen, 9 Eero Salonen, 10 Kalevi Sylander, 11 Taisto Ravantti, 12 Seppo Kuusela, 13 Asko Jokinen, 14 Pertti Mutru, 15 Kalevi Tuominen (Coach: Eino Ojanen)

1957 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 16 teams

3 Timo Lampén, 4 Raine Nuutinen, 5 Raimo Lindholm, 6 Timo Suviranta, 7 Arvo Jantunen, 8 Paavo Suhonen, 9 Juhani Kala, 10 Seppo Kuusela, 11 Kalevi Sylander, 12 Eero Salonen, 13 Pertti Mutru, 14 Arto Koivisto (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1959 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 17 teams

3 Matti Köli, 4 Timo Lampén, 5 Pentti Palkoaho, 6 Matti Nenonen, 7 Raine Nuutinen, 8 Raimo Lindholm, 9 Arvo Jantunen, 10 Kyösti Rousti, 11 Juhani Kala, 12 Seppo Kuusela, 13 Eero Salonen, 14 Raimo Vartia (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1961 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 19 teams

4 Uolevi Manninen, 5 Kari Liimo, 6 Timo Lampén, 7 Pertti Laanti, 8 Lauri Nurma, 9 Martti Liimo, 10 Tony Bärlund, 11 Raimo Lindholm, 12 Rauno Ailus, 13 Arvo Jantunen, 14 Seppo Kuusela, 15 Raimo Vartia (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1963 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams

4 Uolevi Manninen, 5 Kari Liimo, 6 Timo Lampén, 7 Pertti Laanti, 8 Martti Liimo, 9 Juha Harjula, 10 Antero Siljola, 11 Rauno Ailus, 12 Kauko Kauppinen, 13 Jorma Pilkevaara, 14 Seppo Kuusela, 15 Raimo Vartia (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1964 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 16 teams

4 Uolevi Manninen, 5 Kari Liimo, 6 Timo Lampén, 7 Pertti Laanti, 8 Martti Liimo, 9 Raimo Lindholm, 10 Juha Harjula, 11 Risto Kala, 12 Kauko Kauppinen, 13 Jorma Pilkevaara, 14 Teijo Finneman, 15 Raimo Vartia (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1965 EuroBasket: finished 12th among 16 teams

4 Uolevi Manninen, 5 Kari Liimo, 6 Timo Lampén, 7 Pertti Laanti, 8 Martti Liimo, 9 Kari Lahti, 10 Hannu Paananen, 11 Jorma Pilkevaara, 12 Kari Rönnholm, 13 Lars Karell, 14 Teijo Finneman, 15 Jyrki Immonen (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1967 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 16 teams

4 Veikko Vainio, 5 Kari Liimo, 6 Uolevi Manninen, 7 Pertti Laanti, 8 Martti Liimo, 9 Kari Lahti, 10 Kari Rönnholm, 11 Lars Karell, 12 Jorma Pilkevaara, 13 Olavi Ahonen, 14 Teijo Finneman, 15 Jyrki Immonen (Coach: Kalevi Tuominen)

1977 EuroBasket: finished 10th among 12 teams

4 Kalevi Sarkalahti 5 Heikki Kasko, 6 Tapio Sten, 7 Heikki Taponen, 8 Antti Zitting, 9 Risto Lignell, 10 Raimo Mäntynen, 11 Anssi Rauramo, 12 Mikko Koskinen, 13 Klaus Mahlamäki, 14 Jarmo Laitinen, 15 Erkki Saaristo (Coach: Robert Petersen)

1995 EuroBasket: finished 13th among 14 teams

4 Martti Kuisma, 5 Hanno Möttölä, 6 Pekka Markkanen, 7 Sakari Pehkonen, 8 Jarkko Tuomala, 9 Markku Larkio, 10 Riku Marttinen, 11 Mika-Matti Tahvanainen, 12 Juha Luhtanen, 13 Jyri Lehtonen, 14 Kari-Pekka Klinga, 15 Petri-Mikael Niiranen (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2011 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 24 teams

4 Mikko Koivisto, 5 Antti Nikkilä, 6 Kimmo Muurinen, 7 Shawn Huff, 8 Gerald Lee, 9 Sasu Salin, 10 Tuukka Kotti, 11 Petteri Koponen, 12 Vesa Mäkäläinen, 13 Hanno Möttölä, 14 Petri Virtanen, 15 Teemu Rannikko (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2013 EuroBasket: finished 9th among 24 teams

4 Mikko Koivisto, 5 Antti Nikkilä, 6 Kimmo Muurinen, 7 Shawn Huff, 8 Gerald Lee, 9 Sasu Salin, 10 Tuukka Kotti, 11 Petteri Koponen, 12 Samuel Haanpää, 13 Hanno Möttölä, 14 Roope Ahonen, 15 Teemu Rannikko (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2014 FIBA World Cup: finished 22nd among 24 teams

4 Mikko Koivisto, 5 Erik Murphy, 6 Kimmo Muurinen, 7 Shawn Huff, 8 Gerald Lee, 9 Sasu Salin, 10 Tuukka Kotti, 11 Petteri Koponen, 12 Matti Nuutinen, 13 Hanno Möttölä (C), 14 Antero Lehto, 15 Teemu Rannikko (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2015 EuroBasket: finished 16th among 24 teams

4 Mikko Koivisto, 7 Shawn Huff (C), 8 Gerald Lee, 9 Sasu Salin, 10 Tuukka Kotti, 11 Petteri Koponen, 12 Matti Nuutinen, 21 Ville Kaunisto, 24 Joonas Cavén, 30 Roope Ahonen, 31 Jamar Wilson, 33 Erik Murphy (Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

2017 EuroBasket: finished 11th among 24 teams^[3]