Estonia men's national basketball team

The Estonia men's national basketball team (Estonian: Eesti korvpallikoondis) represents Estonia in international basketball matches. They are controlled by the Estonian Basketball Association. The team competed in their first international tournament at the 1936 Olympic Games. Estonia has also qualified for the EuroBasket seven times overall, with their best results coming in 1937 and 1939. However, after 1939, Estonia halted national team activities due to the occupation of the Baltic states during World War II. Estonia rejoined FIBA in 1991, after restoring independence from the Soviet Union.

Estonia
FIBA ranking37 Steady (3 March 2026)[1]
Joined FIBA1934
1991
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationEstonian Basketball Association
CoachHeiko Rannula
Olympic Games
Appearances1
MedalsNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
Appearances8
MedalsNone
First international
 Latvia 20–16 Estonia 
(Riga, Latvia; 29 April 1924)
Biggest win
 Estonia 91–1 Finland 
(Kaunas, Lithuania; 25 May 1939)
Biggest defeat
 Yugoslavia 113–58 Estonia 
(Antalya, Turkey; 1 September 2001)

History

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Early years (1920s–1930s)

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Estonia played their first ever international match against their Baltic neighbors Latvia, on 29 April 1924, a 20–16 defeat in Riga. Ten years later, on 30 November 1934, Estonia became a member of FIBA. Two years after that, the national team played in their first international tournament at the 1936 Olympic Games, held in Berlin. It was the first Olympic tournament to hold basketball as an official medal event. Led by head coach Herbert Niiler, Estonia played their opening match of the tournament against France, where the team came away with a 34–29 win.[2] The national team lost their subsequent second round game to the United States 28–52, but passed the consolation round and faced the Philippines in the third round, losing 22–39.

Game between Estonia and Lithuania at EuroBasket 1937.

Estonia participated at the European Basketball Championship for the first time in 1937. The team won its first game against Egypt 44–15, but failed to advance past the group stage after suffering a 15–20 defeat against Lithuania, and a 20–30 defeat against Italy. Estonia finished the tournament to place fifth in the final rankings, after defeating Czechoslovakia 30–20 and Latvia 41–19.[3]

Two years later at the EuroBasket 1939, the tournament used a different format from the previous championship, with eight teams facing off in a round-robin competition. Estonia finished the tournament with a (4–3) record and again finished in fifth place at the event. Heino Veskila was the tournament's scoring leader averaging 16.7 points per game.[2][4]

In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and the team was disbanded.

National team restored (1990s)

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After the restoration of independence, the Estonian Basketball Association rejoined FIBA in 1991. Estonia qualified for EuroBasket 1993, held in Germany. Despite missing star players Martin Müürsepp and Tiit Sokk, the team, coached by Jaak Salumets won their group in the preliminary round, finishing ahead of Slovenia, Belgium, and hosts and eventual champions Germany. In the second round, Estonia finished third in their group and advanced to the quarter-finals, where the team lost to Russia 61–82 to be eliminated. In the classification rounds, Estonia defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 99–91 and lost to Spain 80–119, finishing the championship in sixth place with a (6–5) record.[2] Aivar Kuusmaa was the team's scoring leader with 19.9 points per game.[5]

2000s–2010s

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Gregor Arbet, Kristjan Kangur and Janar Talts led the national team during the 2010s.

Estonia once again qualified for the EuroBasket, after failing to qualify for the tournament on three occasions after 1993. The team went (7–3) during the qualification period to reach EuroBasket 2001, held in Turkey. Coached by Üllar Kerde, Estonia lost all three of their preliminary round matches against Germany, FR Yugoslavia and Croatia, failing to advance past the group stage and finishing the championship with a disappointing (0–3) record and a 14th place finish. Martin Müürsepp led the team in scoring with 18.3 points per game, while Margus Metstak collected 6.0 rebounds per game, and Rauno Pehka and Tanel Tein averaged 2.7 assists per game.[6] After 2001, Estonia failed to qualify for another major international basketball tournament for 14 years. Although the team competed at the second tier Division B competition in 2011, winning their group.

Tiit Sokk coached Estonia from 2004 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2019.

Coached by Tiit Sokk, Estonia qualified for EuroBasket 2015, with preliminary round matches held in Riga, Latvia. Estonia's first two performances were poor as the team suffered heavy defeats in matches against Czech Republic 57–80 and Belgium 55–84. However, the team bounced back with a 78–71 victory over Ukraine, their first EuroBasket victory since 1993.[7] The next game saw Estonia defeated in a close game by Lithuania 62–64. In their final group phase match, Estonia were up against Latvia, which resulted in a 64–75 loss and failing to advance to the knockout stage.[8] Estonia finished the championship in 20th place with a (1–4) record. Gregor Arbet was the team's scoring leader at 11.6 points per game, while Siim-Sander Vene averaged 6.4 rebounds and Sten Sokk contributed 4.2 assists per game.

In qualification for EuroBasket 2017, Estonia won their first two games against, Belarus, and Portugal to put the team at a record of (2–0). However, Estonia dropped three of their final four matches to eliminate the team from qualifying.[9]

After missing their opportunity to reach EuroBasket 2017, Estonia turned their focus toward qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The team first went through European Pre-Qualifiers, where they accumulated a (3–1) record during the process, to advance.[10] Entering the first round of European Qualifiers, Estonia split their first four matches for a record of (2–2), before losing their final two games to Great Britain and Greece respectively. Although by defeating Great Britain in their first match of the qualifiers between the two, it proved enough for Estonia to move on to the second and final phase of European qualifiers. There, the team lost their first four games of the round, before managing to salvage their final two matches before being eliminated.[11] In October 2019, the Estonian Basketball Association named Jukka Toijala as the new head coach of the national team.

2020s

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Estonia competed in the EuroBasket 2022 with group phase games played in Milan, Italy. The team started the tournament with a 62–83 loss to the hosts, followed by two narrow defeats against Ukraine (73–74) and Croatia (70–73). Estonia then won 94–62 against Great Britain before losing to Greece 69–90. The team failed to advance to the round of 16 and finished the tournament in 19th place.[12] Maik-Kalev Kotsar averaged the team-best 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Kerr Kriisa led the team with 5.8 assists per game. On 22 May 2025 Estonia was selected as one of the co-hosts of the EuroBasket 2029, giving Estonia automatic qualification as co-host. Group phase matches will take place in Tallinn at the Unibet Arena.[13]

Competitive record

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Results and fixtures

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  Win   Loss

2025

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21 February 2025 Estonia  8465  North Macedonia Tallinn, Estonia
19:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 16–22, 20–11, 26–15
Pts: Kotsar 16
Rebs: Kotsar, Kullamäe 9
Asts: Kullamäe 9
Boxscore Pts: Shorts 21
Rebs: Maslinko 7
Asts: Shorts 6
Arena: Unibet Arena
Attendance: 6,774
Referees: Yener Yılmaz (TUR), Zdenko Tomašovič (SVK), Valentin Oliot (FRA)
24 February 2025 Lithuania  8275  Estonia Klaipėda, Lithuania
19:30 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 32–24, 7–21, 15–11
Pts: Radzevičius 19
Rebs: Radzevičius 8
Asts: Velička, Žemaitis 6
Boxscore Pts: Kotsar 16
Rebs: Konontšuk 8
Asts: Kullamäe 6
Arena: Švyturio Arena
Attendance: 3,919
Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Sergii Zashchuk (UKR), Cecília Montgomery-Tóth (HUN)
27 August 2025 Serbia  9864  Estonia Riga, Latvia
21:15 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 32–12, 24–17, 30–15, 12–20
Pts: N. Jović 18
Rebs: Jokić 10
Asts: Bogdanović, Jokić 7
Boxscore Pts: Drell 11
Rebs: Riismaa, Treier 4
Asts: Vene 5
Arena: Xiaomi Arena
Attendance: 8,151
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Lorenzo Baldini (ITA), Geert Jacobs (BEL)
29 August 2025 Estonia  7072  Latvia Riga, Latvia
18:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 21–21, 19–25, 9–9
Pts: Konontšuk, Tass 13
Rebs: Jõesaar, Kullamäe 6
Asts: Kullamäe 8
Boxscore Pts: Porziņģis 26
Rebs: Dāv. Bertāns 11
Asts: Žagars 6
Arena: Xiaomi Arena
Attendance: 10,291
Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Marius Ciulin (ROU), Fernando Calatrava (ESP)
30 August 2025 Czech Republic  7589  Estonia Riga, Latvia
14:45 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 17–31, 18–23, 21–12
Pts: Žídek 14
Rebs: Bohačík 7
Asts: three players 4
Boxscore Pts: Kullamäe 16
Rebs: Jõesaar 8
Asts: Kullamäe 7
Arena: Xiaomi Arena
Attendance: 8,190
Referees: Wojciech Liszka (POL), Lorenzo Baldini (ITA), Geert Jacobs (BEL)
1 September 2025 Estonia  6484  Turkey Riga, Latvia
14:45 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 13–25, 14–21, 22–19, 15–19
Pts: Kullamäe 16
Rebs: five players 3
Asts: Konontšuk 5
Boxscore Pts: Şengün 21
Rebs: Osmani 10
Asts: Şengün 5
Arena: Xiaomi Arena
Attendance: 4,844
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Fernando Calatrava (ESP), Josip Jurčević (CRO)
3 September 2025 Estonia  6568  Portugal Riga, Latvia
14:45 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 14–14, 18–13, 13–20, 20–21
Pts: Konontšuk 20
Rebs: Jõesaar 7
Asts: Kullamäe 6
Boxscore Pts: Lisboa 17
Rebs: Queiroz 9
Asts: Lisboa 5
Arena: Xiaomi Arena
Attendance: 5,010
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Lorenzo Baldini (ITA), Marius Ciulin (ROU)
28 November 2025 Slovenia  9394(OT)  Estonia Koper, Slovenia
19:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 18–20, 20–26, 21–14, Overtime: 14–15
Pts: Hrovat 23
Rebs: Cerkvenik, Omić 6
Asts: Samar 8
Boxscore Pts: Drell 29
Rebs: Riismaa 8
Asts: Drell 6
Arena: Arena Bonifika
Attendance: 1,570
Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Ventsislav Velkov (BUL), Zdenko Tomašovič (SVK)
1 December 2025 Estonia  9297  Czech Republic Tallinn, Estonia
20:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 24–31, 21–22, 18–17
Pts: Treier 26
Rebs: Konontšuk 5
Asts: Jõesaar 8
Boxscore Pts: Satoranský 18
Rebs: Peterka, Sehnal 5
Asts: Satoranský 16
Arena: Unibet Arena
Attendance: 6,594
Referees: Martin Horozov (BUL), Zafer Yılmaz (TUR), Silvia Marziali (ITA)

2026

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27 February 2026 Sweden  7788  Estonia Stockholm, Sweden
19:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 14–24, 22–11, 19–31
Pts: Håkanson 21
Rebs: Hampton 7
Asts: Håkanson 6
Boxscore Pts: Drell 23
Rebs: Konontšuk 6
Asts: Suurorg 5
Arena: Avicii Arena
Attendance: 9,364
Referees: Ventsislav Velikov (BUL), Lorenzo Baldini (ITA), Siniša Prpa (SRB)
1 March 2026 Estonia  6979  Sweden Tallinn, Estonia
19:00 (UTC+2) Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 16–15, 17–13, 14–28
Pts: Drell 16
Rebs: Jõesaar 6
Asts: Suurorg, Treier 4
Boxscore Pts: Håkanson 18
Rebs: Bangala 10
Asts: Pantzar 7
Arena: Unibet Arena
Attendance: 6,637
Referees: Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (EST), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU), Ioannis Tsibouris (GRE)

Team

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Current roster

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Roster for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualification matches on 3 July and 6 July 2026 against Slovenia and Czechia .[14]

Estonia men's national basketball team roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
SF 0 Henri Drell 25 – (2000-04-25)25 April 2000 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Joventut Badalona Spain
PG 1 Märt Rosenthal 26 – (1999-03-15)15 March 1999 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Kalev Estonia
SF 2 Sander Raieste 26 – (1999-03-31)31 March 1999 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) UCAM Murcia Spain
PF 3 Kaspar Treier 26 – (1999-09-19)19 September 1999 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Napoli Basket Italy
PG 4 Erik Makke 20 – (2005-04-05)5 April 2005 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks United States
C 9 Matthias Tass 26 – (1999-03-23)23 March 1999 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Legia Warsaw Poland
SF 10 Hugo Toom 23 – (2002-10-25)25 October 2002 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Kalev Estonia
PF 11 Siim-Sander Vene (C) 35 – (1990-11-12)12 November 1990 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) BC Šiauliai Lithuania
PF 13 Kregor Hermet 28 – (1997-06-09)9 June 1997 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) JDA Dijon France
C 15 Maik-Kalev Kotsar 29 – (1996-12-22)22 December 1996 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Yokohama B-Corsairs Japan
SG 16 Stefan Vaaks 20 – (2005-05-08)8 May 2005 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Illinois Fighting Illini United States
PG 18 Kasper Suurorg 23 – (2002-05-27)27 May 2002 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Trefl Sopot Poland
SF 21 Janari Jõesaar 32 – (1993-12-08)8 December 1993 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Bosna BH Telecom Bosnia and Herzegovina
SG 23 Leemet Böckler 24 – (2001-04-07)7 April 2001 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Górnik Wałbrzych Poland
G 25 Joonas Riismaa 23 – (2002-03-06)6 March 2002 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Derthona Basket Italy
F 34 Artur Konontšuk 25 – (2000-05-09)9 May 2000 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Bursaspor Turkey
PG 77 Kristian Kullamäe 26 – (1999-05-25)25 May 1999 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) BC Lietkabelis Lithuania
PF 99 Karl Johan Lips 29 – (1996-07-20)20 July 1996 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski Poland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 27 February 2026

Depth chart

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Recent call-ups

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Current notable players who have played for the national team:

Players previously called up roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameAge – Date of birthHeightClubCtr.
PG 5 Siim-Markus Post 29 – (1997-02-13)13 February 1997 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) TalTech Estonia
G 7 Mikk Jurkatamm 25 – (2000-09-18)18 September 2000 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Avellino Basket Italy
PF 8 Mihkel Kirves 29 – (1996-12-06)6 December 1996 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Jonava Hipocredit Lithuania
SF 12 Gregor Kuuba 22 – (2003-10-08)8 October 2003 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Kalev Estonia
PF 14 Taavi Jurkatamm 28 – (1997-10-10)10 October 1997 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) TalTech Estonia
PF 31 Henri Veesaar 21 – (2004-03-28)28 March 2004 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) North Carolina Tar Heels United States
SF 35 Markus Ilver 24 – (2002-01-12)12 January 2002 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Tartu Ülikool Estonia
SG 40 Martin Paasoja 33 – (1993-01-04)4 January 1993 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Tartu Ülikool Estonia
PG 44 Kerr Kriisa 25 – (2001-01-02)2 January 2001 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Cincinnati Bearcats United States
Legend
  • Age – describes age
    on 27 February 2026
  • Club – describes last
    club

Coaches

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Coach Period Competition Result
Estonia Herbert Niiler1929–19401936 Olympic Games9th
1937 EuroBasket5th
1939 EuroBasket5th
Estonia Jaanus Levkoi1991–1992
Estonia Jaak Salumets1993–19971993 EuroBasket6th
Netherlands Maarten van Gent1997–1999
Estonia Üllar Kerde1999–20012001 EuroBasket14th
Estonia Heino Enden2001–2004
Estonia Tiit Sokk2004–2007
Estonia Üllar Kerde2007–2009
Estonia Tiit Sokk2009–20192015 EuroBasket20th
Finland Jukka Toijala2019–20242022 EuroBasket19th
Estonia Heiko Rannula2024–2025 EuroBasket19th

Past rosters

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1936 Olympic Games: finished 9th among 23 teams

3 Erich Altosaar, 4 Artur Amon, 5 Aleksander Illi, 6 Vladimir Kärk, 8 Robert Keres, 9 Evald Mahl, 10 Aleksander Margiste, 11 Bernhard Nooni, 12 Leonid Saar, 13 Heino Veskila, 14 Georg Vinogradov (Coach: Herbert Niiler)


1937 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 8 teams

3 Oskar Erikson, 4 Aleksander Illi, 5 Vladimir Kärk, 6 Robert Keres, 7 Evald Mahl, 8 Albert Suurna, 9 Heino Veskila, 10 Ralf Viksten, 11 Alfred Zimmermann (Coach: Herbert Niiler)


1939 EuroBasket: finished 5th among 8 teams

3 Valdeko Valdmäe, 4 Oskar Erikson, 5 Herbert Tillemann, 6 Ralf Viksten, 7 Georg Vinogradov, 8 Artur Amon, 9 Hans Juurup, 10 Erich Altosaar, 11 Heino Veskila, 13 Evald Mahl (Coach: Herbert Niiler)


1993 EuroBasket: finished 6th among 16 teams

4 Toomas Kandimaa, 5 Aivar Kuusmaa, 6 Erki Kivinukk, 7 Ivo Saksakulm, 8 Margus Metstak, 9 Andrus Nagel, 10 Indrek Rumma, 11 Sergei Babenko, 12 Marek Noormets, 13 Aleksandr Karavajev, 14 Gert Kullamäe, 15 Rauno Pehka (Coach: Jaak Salumets)


2001 EuroBasket: finished 14th among 16 teams

4 Tanel Tein, 5 Indrek Varblane, 6 Toomas Kandimaa, 7 Valmo Kriisa, 8 Margus Metstak, 9 Andre Pärn, 10 Indrek Rumma, 11 Tarmo Kikerpill, 12 Marek Noormets, 13 Martin Müürsepp, 14 Toomas Liivak, 15 Rauno Pehka (Coach: Üllar Kerde)


2015 EuroBasket: finished 20th among 24 teams

4 Rain Veideman, 5 Tanel Sokk, 6 Gert Dorbek, 7 Sten Sokk, 8 Janar Talts, 9 Gregor Arbet, 10 Erik Keedus, 11 Siim-Sander Vene, 13 Joosep Toome, 14 Kristjan Kangur, 15 Reinar Hallik, 20 Tanel Kurbas (Coach: Tiit Sokk)


2022 EuroBasket: finished 19th among 24 teams

0 Henri Drell, 2 Sander Raieste, 7 Sten Sokk, 9 Matthias Tass, 11 Siim-Sander Vene, 15 Maik-Kalev Kotsar, 20 Rauno Nurger, 21 Janari Jõesaar, 22 Martin Dorbek, 33 Kristjan Kitsing, 44 Kerr Kriisa, 77 Kristian Kullamäe (Coach: Jukka Toijala)


2025 EuroBasket: finished 19th among 24 teams

0 Henri Drell, 1 Märt Rosenthal, 2 Sander Raieste, 3 Kaspar Treier, 7 Mikk Jurkatamm, 9 Matthias Tass, 11 Siim-Sander Vene, 13 Kregor Hermet, 21 Janari Jõesaar, 25 Joonas Riismaa, 34 Artur Konontšuk, 77 Kristian Kullamäe (Coach: Heiko Rannula)

See also

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References

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  1. "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 3 March 2026. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eesti korvpall 95" [Estonian basketball 95] (in Estonian). Estonian Basketball Association. 3 June 2010.
  3. "Estonia - EuroBasket 1937 tournament results". fibaeurope.com. 7 May 1937.
  4. "Season 1939". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. "Season 1993". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  6. "Season 2001". FIBA Europe. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  7. "Estonia revel in historic success". eurobasket2015.org. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  8. "Latvia battle back to punch Last 16 ticket". eurobasket2015.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  9. "Estonia during the EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  10. "Estonia during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers". Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  11. "Estonia during the 2019 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers". Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  12. "Estonia at the EuroBasket 2022". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  13. "FIBA EuroBasket 2029 hosts announced". FIBA. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  14. "Estonia during the 2027 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers in February 2026". Retrieved 27 February 2026.
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