By Daily Sports Nigeria on March 6, 2026

Nigeria’s men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, have slipped three places to 53rd in the latest International Basketball Federation world rankings released on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The drop sees Nigeria fall from their previous position of 50th globally and eighth on the African continent with 271.2 ranking points in the rankings published by the sport’s governing body.

The decline makes Nigeria the joint second-biggest fallers among African teams in the latest update, sharing that distinction with Tunisia, which also dropped three places to 52nd in the world standings. Rwanda recorded the biggest fall on the continent, slipping five places to 86th.

Within Africa, Nigeria remain eighth in the continental hierarchy, behind South Sudan, Angola, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Senegal, Cape Verde and Tunisia.

South Sudan continues to lead the continent’s rankings at 25th in the world with 472.1 points, followed by Angola in 32nd with 416.8 points and the Ivory Coast in 38th with 358.9 points.

Egypt occupy fourth position in Africa and 43rd globally with 319.7 points, while Senegal is ranked 48th in the world with 295.9 points. Cape Verde sit 50th with 282.3 points, just ahead of Tunisia in 52nd with 278.2 points and Nigeria in 53rd with 271.2 points.

Cameroon and Mali complete Africa’s top 10 in the rankings at 59th and 64th, respectively.

Despite the drop in the global standings, Nigeria remain in contention in the qualification race for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where they are currently ranked 11th in the African qualifiers’ Smart Power Rankings.

D’Tigers have shown resilience in recent continental competitions, notably during the 2025 AfroBasket, where they defeated Madagascar, Tunisia and Cameroon for a clean sweep of 3-0 in Group B of the preliminary round. After their fine start, the Nigerian side lost 75–91 to Senegal to seal their fate at the championship.

However, their World Cup qualification campaign remains delicately balanced. Nigeria currently hold a 1–2 record in the African qualifiers and will need a strong showing in the July window to boost their chances of securing one of the five spots allocated to African teams for the 2027 tournament in Qatar.

Globally, the latest rankings remain largely stable at the summit, with the United States retaining the number one position after advancing to the second round of the Americas qualifiers. The gap among several of the leading nations has narrowed significantly, with Serbia, France and Canada separated by fewer than three points in the race for podium positions.

Elsewhere, Greece were among the notable climbers after moving into the top 12 following qualification for the second round of the European qualifiers, while New Zealand also improved their standing after recording away victories against the Philippines and Guam in the Asian qualifiers.

In Africa, Ivory Coast were the highest-ranked team to record an upward movement following an unbeaten start in the continental qualifiers, climbing to 38th in the world.

Source Punch Ng

Posted March 6, 2026

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