Norway men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Norway women's national basketball team.

Norway

FIBA ranking	93 3 (27 February 2023) [1]
Joined FIBA	1968
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	NBBF
Coach	Matthias Eckhoff
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances	2
Medals	Silver: (1996, 2018)
Home Away
First international
Norway 50–63 Denmark   (Oslo, Norway; 11 February 1967)
Biggest win
San Marino 48–88 Norway   (Serravalle, San Marino; 26 June 2018)
Biggest defeat
Iceland 123–59 Norway   (Reykjavík, Iceland; 15 April 1968)

The Norway men's national basketball team (Norwegian : Norge herrelandslag i basketball) represents Norway in international basketball tournaments. The national team is administered by the Norwegian Basketball Federation.

Norway has never had great success on the international stage in the past. They are one of the few European countries to date to have never qualified for one of the top international basketball competitions, such as the EuroBasket or the FIBA World Cup.

History

Norway's first international match was played on 11 February 1967 in Oslo, where the team lost 50–63 to Denmark. ^[2] The most capped player is Torgeir Bryn, with 111 caps.

In the past, Norway has attempted to qualify for the EuroBasket several times, but have yet to reach the tournament. They have only entered the Olympic basketball qualification twice, for the 1980, and 1988 Olympic Games. Norway is one of Europe's most populous nations to have never qualified for a major international basketball competition. However, they have competed at smaller events such as the European Championship for Small Countries.

The Road to Revival (2012–2017)

In 2012, financial troubles led the Norwegian Basketball Federation to shut down both the men's and women's national teams. The federation simply did not have the funds to keep either the men's or women's teams afloat. Since then, however, the federation has come to realize just how many people from the athletes and teams, to individuals and companies care about the Norwegian basketball community and are willing to provide financial support. The federation also worked to raise money through sponsorships, and eventually signed a major sponsorship agreement with Circle K, in addition to a few smaller sponsors. ^[3]

Norway's return (2018–present)

In 2018, Norway made its return to FIBA competition by playing at the European Championship for Small Countries. The national team finished as the runners-up after losing 75–59 in the final against Malta. ^[4]

In 2021, Norway joined the EuroBasket 2025 qualification.

Competitive record

FIBA World Cup World Cup Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1970 Did not enter Did not enter 1974 1978 1982 Did not qualify Did not qualify 1986 Did not enter Did not enter 1990 Did not qualify EuroBasket served as qualifiers 1994 1998 2002 2006 Did not enter Did not enter 2010 2014 2019 2023 2027 To be determined To be determined Total 0/14 Olympic Games Olympic Games Qualifying Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1968 Did not enter Did not enter 1972 1976 1980 Did not qualify 4 0 4 1984 Did not enter Did not enter 1988 Did not qualify 3 0 3 1992 Did not enter Did not enter 1996 to 2024 2028 To be determined To be determined Total 0/15 7 0 7 Championship for Small Countries FIBA European Championship for Small Countries Year Position Pld W L 1996 5 4 1 2018 5 4 1 Total 10 8 2

EuroBasket EuroBasket Qualification Year Position Pld W L Pld W L 1969 Did not enter Did not enter 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 Did not qualify 3 0 3 1981 4 1 3 1983 Did not enter Did not enter 1985 Did not qualify 9 5 4 1987 4 3 1 1989 3 0 3 1991 4 1 3 1993 4 0 4 1995 Did not enter Did not enter 1997 Did not qualify 5 0 5 1999 3 0 3 2001 9 3 6 2003 Did not enter Did not enter 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2022 2025 Did not qualify 14 6 8 Total 0/27 62 19 43

Results and fixtures

  Win  Loss

2021

Norway   v   Kosovo

25 November 2021 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Norway	86–77	Kosovo	Bergen, Norway
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 17–22, 25–11, 27–19, 17–25
	Pts: Ndow 21 Rebs: Ndow 8 Asts: Jawara 7	Boxscore	Pts: Berisha 18 Rebs: Berisha 7 Asts: Berisha 4	Arena: Haukelandshallen Attendance: 2,143 Referees: Vilius Mačiulaitis (LTU), Mart Uuehendrik (EST), James Dominique (GIB)

2022

Denmark   v   Norway

24 February 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Denmark	84–68	Norway	Næstved, Denmark
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter:18–17, 20–17, 25–20, 21–14
	Pts: Klussmann, Zohore 13 Rebs: Zohore 11 Asts: Zohore 4	Boxscore	Pts: Frey 23 Rebs: Jawara 10 Asts: Jawara 5	Arena: Næstved Arena Referees: Marko Vučković (SVN), Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Alberto Sánchez (ESP)

Kosovo   v   Norway

27 February 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Kosovo	92–950(OT)	Norway	Mitrovica, Kosovo
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter:27–15, 19–16, 18–25, 17–25, Overtime: 11–14
	Pts: Berisha 27 Rebs: Bamforth 8 Asts: Bamforth 5	Boxscore	Pts: Frey 38 Rebs: Ndow 10 Asts: Jawara 4	Arena: Minatori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Stoica Ciprian (ROU), Zoran Mitrovski (MKD), Stylianos Simeonidis (GRE)

Norway   v   Denmark

3 July 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 1st round	Norway	62–64	Denmark	Oslo, Norway
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 13–14, 9–24, 12–14, 28–12
	Pts: Frey 16 Rebs: Berg, Dolven 7 Asts: Jawara 8	Boxscore	Pts: Zohore 19 Rebs: Zohore 11 Asts: Zohore 4	Arena: Nye Jordal Amfi Attendance: 4,350 Referees: Vilius Mačiulaitis (LTU), Zdenko Tomašovič (SVK), Andrea Bongiorni (ITA)

Slovakia   v   Norway

25 August 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Slovakia	68–87	Norway	Levice, Slovakia
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 13–21, 23–24, 12–21
	Pts: Jones 17 Rebs: Körner 5 Asts: Ihring 8	Boxscore	Pts: Frey 37 Rebs: Berg 10 Asts: Jawara 9	Arena: Športová hala Levice Attendance: 821 Referees: Mehmet Şahin (TUR), Franko Gracin (CRO), Nemanja Ninković (SRB)

Norway   v   Denmark

28 August 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Norway	99–75	Denmark	Bergen, Norway
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter:34–21, 23–23, 26–21, 16–10
	Pts: Frey 26 Rebs: Jawara 7 Asts: Jawara 6	Boxscore	Pts: Lundberg 16 Rebs: Larsen 9 Asts: Lundberg 7	Arena: Haukelandshallen Attendance: 2,250 Referees: Mihkel Männiste (EST), Mart Uuehendrik (EST), Davíð Tómasson (ISL)

North Macedonia   v   Norway

10 November 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	North Macedonia	58–36	Norway	Gevgelija, North Macedonia
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter:16–11, 18–7, 11–11, 13–7
	Pts: Krstevski, Stojanovski 14 Rebs: Krstevski 10 Asts: Shorts 8	Boxscore	Pts: Frey, Jawara 11 Rebs: Berg 7 Asts: Frey 3	Arena: Gevgelija Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Łukasz Jankowski (POL), Valentin Oliot (FRA), Jan Baloun (CZE)

Norway   v   Slovakia

13 November 2022 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Norway	56–68	Slovakia	Bergen, Norway
18:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter:20–16, 13–20, 13–14, 10–18
	Pts: Ndow 17 Rebs: Berg 10 Asts: Frey 5	Boxscore	Pts: Brodziansky 20 Rebs: Mokráň 12 Asts: Krajčovič 5	Arena: Haukelandshallen Attendance: 2,053 Referees: Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Alberto Sánchez (ESP), Blaž Zupančič (SVN)

2023

Denmark   v   Norway

23 February 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Denmark	69–61	Norway	Næstved, Denmark
19:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter:21–15, 18–14, 12–16, 18–16
	Pts: Åris, Midtgaard 13 Rebs: Åris 7 Asts: Darbo 6	Boxscore	Pts: Frey 24 Rebs: Ndow 6 Asts: Jawara 6	Arena: Næstved Arena Referees: Radomir Vojinović (MNE), Sergio Rodriguez (ESP), Özlem Yalman (TUR)

Norway   v   North Macedonia

26 February 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 2nd round	Norway	41–79	North Macedonia	Oslo, Norway
18:00 (UTC+1)	Scoring by quarter: 12–24, 14–21, 10–15, 5–19
	Pts: Frey 10 Rebs: Jawara, Ndow 5 Asts: Jawara 4	Boxscore	Pts: Shorts 22 Rebs: Shorts 6 Asts: Shorts 5	Arena: Nordstrand Arena Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Ciprian Stoica (ROU), Can Mavisu (TUR), Javier Torres (ESP)

Norway   v   Bulgaria

19 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Norway	86–80	Bulgaria	Asker, Norway
19:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter:22–21, 27–18, 19–8, 18–33
	Pts: Frey 27 Rebs: Ndow 8 Asts: Frey 4	Boxscore	Pts: Miller-McIntyre 20 Rebs: Alipiev 7 Asts: P. Ivanov 9	Arena: Varner Arena Attendance: 1,950 Referees: Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Michał Proc (POL), Gvidas Gedvilas (LTU)

Austria   v   Norway

26 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Austria	85–66	Norway	Schwechat, Austria
18:30 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter:25–15, 24–12, 21–15, 15–24
	Pts: Vujošević 21 Rebs:four players 6 Asts: Güttl 5	Boxscore	Pts: Ndow 21 Rebs: Kolstad 7 Asts: Espe 5	Arena: Multiversum Attendance: 1,350 Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Martin Vulić (CRO), Ariadna Chueca (ESP)

Bulgaria   v   Norway

29 July 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Bulgaria	91–69	Norway	Botevgrad, Bulgaria
18:00 (UTC+3)	Scoring by quarter:20–14, 30–20, 24–17, 17–18
	Pts: Kostadinov 19 Rebs: Kostadinov 9 Asts: Miller-McIntyre 13	Boxscore	Pts: Kolstad 12 Rebs: Sjölund 6 Asts: Frey 8	Arena: Arena Botevgrad Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Yener Yılmaz (TUR), Josip Jurčević (CRO), Vladimir Jevtović (SRB)

Norway   v   Austria

5 August 2023 EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers – 3rd round	Norway	84–74	Austria	Asker, Norway
18:00 (UTC+2)	Scoring by quarter:22–17, 19–23, 22–18, 21–16
	Pts: Ndow 29 Rebs: Berg, Ndow 9 Asts: Kolstad 4	Boxscore	Pts: Güttl 15 Rebs: Lohr 8 Asts: Ersek, Vujošević 5	Arena: Varner Arena Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Gatis Saliņš (LAT), Gintaras Vitkauskas (LTU), Armin Mutapčić (GER)

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers matches in July/August 2023 against Bulgaria and Austria. ^{[5] [6]}

Norway men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G/F 0 Jørgen Odfjell 22 – (2000-08-03)3 August 2000 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Leeuwarden PG 3 Lars Espe 23 – (1998-09-26)26 September 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Gimle F 5 Chris-Ebou Ndow 29 – (1993-12-10)10 December 1993 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Den Bosch PG 7 Harald Frey 26 – (1997-05-27)27 May 1997 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Bonn G 11 Stian Mjøs  (C) 34 – (1989-02-27)27 February 1989 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Bærum G 12 Mikkel Kolstad 28 – (1995-05-03)3 May 1995 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Gimle F/C 14 Johannes Dolven 27 – (1996-05-11)11 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Centrum Tigers F/C 18 Erik Borg 21 – (2001-10-06)6 October 2001 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Kongsberg Miners F 22 Sjur Berg 27 – (1996-01-10)10 January 1996 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Bærum F 25 Hallvard Staff 21 – (2002-06-18)18 June 2002 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Tromsø F 32 Kristian Sjölund 23 – (1999-09-10)10 September 1999 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Bayreuth G/F 33 Tobias Rotegård 22 – (2000-05-08)8 May 2000 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Ehingen F 40 Axel Borg 19 – (2004-04-10)10 April 2004 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Zentro	Head coach Matthias Eckhoff Assistant coach(es) Milovan Savić Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 19 July 2023

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Sjur Berg	Erik Borg	Marcus Larsson
PF	Karamo Jawara	Johannes Dolven	Axel Borg
SF	Chris-Ebou Ndow	Kristian Sjølund	Jørgen Odfjell
SG	Bouna Ndiaye	Mikkel Kolstad	Tobias Rotegård
PG	Harald Frey	Stian Mjøs	Lars Espe

Head coach position

• Matthias Eckhoff – (2018–present)

Notable players

• Torgeir Bryn – the first Scandinavian, and the only Norwegian who has played in the NBA; and the most capped player for the Norway national basketball team with 111 matches.

Past rosters

2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries: finished 2nd among 7 teams ^[7]

Norway men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. PG 4 Magnus Midtvedt 28 – (1990-04-07)7 April 1990 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Centrum PG 5 Harald Frey 21 – (1997-05-27)27 May 1997 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Montana State G 6 Stian Berg 27 – (1991-04-04)4 April 1991 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Asker PG 7 Lars Espe 19 – (1998-09-26)26 September 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Barry Buccaneers G/F 8 Bouna Ndiaye 25 – (1992-10-20)20 October 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) GET Vosges G 9 Nikolas Skouen 28 – (1990-01-29)29 January 1990 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Frøya F 10 Karamo Jawara 27 – (1991-06-25)25 June 1991 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Palma G 11 Stian Mjøs 29 – (1989-02-27)27 February 1989 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Bærum G/F 12 Eivind Lamo 21 – (1996-10-23)23 October 1996 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Gimle G/F 13 Alex Dakin 25 – (1993-01-02)2 January 1993 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Bærum F 14 Sjur Berg 22 – (1996-01-10)10 January 1996 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Alaska Anchorage F/C 15 Johannes Dolven 22 – (1996-05-11)11 May 1996 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Barry Buccaneers	Head coach Matthias Eckhoff Assistant coach(es) Audun Eskeland Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 26 June 2018

See also

• Sports portal
• Norway portal

• Norway women's national basketball team
• Norway men's national under-20 basketball team
• Norway men's national under-18 basketball team
• Norway men's national under-16 basketball team

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
2. "55-årsjubileum mot Danmark". basket.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 3 July 2022.
3. "Norway returns to international basketball". norwegianamerican.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
4. "Norway at the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries" . Retrieved 1 July 2018.
5. "På lag igjen etter åtte år". basket.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
6. "Norway during the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers in July/August 2023" . Retrieved 19 July 2023.
7. "Norway at the 2018 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries" . Retrieved 1 July 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Norwegian)
• Norway FIBA profile
• Norway National Team – Men at Eurobasket.com