BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — Spain has overtaken the United States to become the new No. 1 team in the latest FIBA men’s world rankings.
Spain is only the second team to top the rankings since 2010, ending a 12-year run of the United States holding the top position.
Spain leads the rankings with 758.6 points, followed by the United States with 757.5 points. The rest of the top 10 remained unchanged: Australia, Argentina, France, Serbia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Greece and Italy.
Spain’s rise to the top is due to its consistent performances in every competition in recent years, which is highlighted by triumphs at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
Spain also reached the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
Despite winning the gold medal at the Olympics, the United States crashed out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals and finished third at the FIBA Americup 2022.