PODGORICA (Montenegro) - After only beginning to compete as Montenegro in 2008, the Balkan nation took another step in its basketball history as it advanced to FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
And they head to Finland this summer with plenty of experience on their roster, led by Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Vucevic, along with the standouts from the Qualifiers, Marko Simonovic and Vladimir Mihailovic.
A team known for their resilience and fight, Montenegro will not be taken lightly in Tampere when they begin EuroBasket, and they would like to go further in the tournament.
Schedule
August 27: vs Germany (15:30 CET) August 29: vs Lithuania (15:30 CET) August 30: vs Finland (19:30 CET) September 1: vs Sweden (12:30 CET) September 3: vs Great Britain (12:30 CET)
Star Player
Nikola Vucevic will compete in his fourth EuroBasket, and the 14-year NBA veteran is eager to excel in a tournament where Montenegro has not advanced past the Round of 16 since its debut in 2011.
Vucevic posted a EuroBasket-best 14.5 points and 8 rebounds per game in 2022, after averaging just 6 points and 3.6 rebounds before that. Therefore, his improvement, not just in the NBA but also at the international level, has been solid.
Now, he heads to Tampere with his nation, as the leader, the mentor. Can he guide Montenegro beyond the Round of 16 this summer?
History
Montenegro securing their spot at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 means the Balkan nation will be playing in the continent's top competition for the third straight time and fifth in the last six editions. They only missed the EuroBasket in 2015.
Montenegro finished 21st and 17th in their first two appearances but has reached the top 16 in both of the last EuroBaskets, finishing 13th in both 2017 and 2022.
Best finish: 13th - 2017, 2022
EuroBasket Top Scorers
Rank | Player | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bojan Dubljevic | 17 | 219 |
2 | Nikola Vucevic | 16 | 147 |
3 | Predrag Drobnjak | 13 | 139 |
4 | Tyrese Rice | 10 | 129 |
5 | Vlado Scepanovic | 22 | 107 |
6 | Vladimir Mihailovic | 17 | 104 |
7 | Kendrick Perry | 6 | 91 |
8 | Milko Bjelica | 10 | 72 |
9 | Nikola Pekovic | 5 | 65 |
10 | Suad Sehovic | 11 | 57 |
How they qualified
Gameday 1: GER 85-61 MNE Gameday 2: MNE 95-70 SWE Gameday 3: MNE 85-62 BUL Gameday 4: BUL 86-90 MNE Gameday 5: MNE 76-95 GER Gameday 6: SWE 86-83 MNE
Poll: Where will they finish?
Tickets
FIBA