Meet the captains: Who are the 16 players who could raise the EuroBasket trophy in Riga?

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RIGA (Latvia) - Every elite player in Europe had marked September 14 on the calendar ever since the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 schedule was released. That's when they hope to conclude their campaign in Europe's flagship event by hoisting the coveted trophy in the Latvian capital, Riga.

There are only 16 players that can experience this moment, the captains of the respective national teams who have punched their ticket to the Round of 16 and hope to prolong their stay in Riga until the night of September 14.T

The oldest of this group, at 35 years old, is Kostas Papanikolaou of Greece, who dream of lifting the EuroBasket trophy 20 years after their last triumph.

At 26, Luka Doncic isn't only the youngest captain at EuroBasket 2025 but also the only one among the captains who has been proclaimed EuroBasket champion. He was an 18-year-old prodigy when he made the All-Star Five in EuroBasket 2017, where Slovenia won their title for the first time and captain Goran Dragic lifted the trophy.

France's Guerschon Yabusele and Sweden's Ludvig Hakanson, both 29 years old, are the only other two captains featured in the Round of 16 who haven't turned 30 yet.

The average age of the 16 captains in the Final Phase is 32 years. Sasu Salin, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Jonas Valanciunas have the most EuroBasket participations, with six apiece.

The full list of captains in the Round of 16:

*Bogdan Bogdanovic is currently injured and will miss the remainder of FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

FIBA