FIBA Women’s Rankings: Nigeria makes history, breaks into Top 10

Nigeria Women’s basketball team, D’Tigress has made the headlines again after the team’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games feat. This time, the team made a remarkable leap of four places to break into the top 10 with 631 points to land in eighth position and maintained her number one spot in Africa.

The team celebrated their first-ever Group Phase victory, secured two wins for the first time, and became the first African nation – men’s or women’s to compete in the Olympic Quarter-Finals. Nigeria’s D’Tigress have now made history again as the first African national team, male or female, to be ranked in the top 10 of the FIBA World Rankings.

Nigeria’s historic run began with an opening day victory against Australia in Lille. Although Australia recovered to take the bronze medal, the Opals also have reason to celebrate as they climbed to second place in the rankings.

USA proudly retains top spot after taking gold at the Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024. In a truly absorbing and memorable competition that was played out in front of record-breaking crowds, USA secured a stunning 10th title and their 8th in a row, which sees them remain top of the rankings with 883.3 points.

In a thrilling journey to the Paris 2024 Final, France has jumped four spots to secure third place in the FIBA World Rankings. Backed by enthusiastic home supporters, the French team narrowly missed the gold, losing by just one point to the USA, earning them a silver medal—matching their best-ever result at the Olympic Games.

Germany also made an impact in their Olympic debut, advancing to the Quarter-Finals after securing two Group Phase wins. This impressive performance has propelled them up eight spots to 13th in the rankings.

Serbia, another Quarter-Finalist at Paris 2024, saw their ranking improve from 10th to 9th place, marking another significant achievement.

Success at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in Mexico and Rwanda led to ranking changes for several teams. Czechia, after winning the tournament in Mexico City and securing a spot in the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, climbed two places to 21st. Hungary, who triumphed in Kigali, moved up one spot to 15th.

Rwanda, the host nation of the Kigali tournament, saw the biggest leap in the Top 100, jumping 12 places to 62nd.

Although Korea reached the final in Mexico, their rise in points wasn’t enough to surpass Germany’s impressive ascent.