The Iceland men's national basketball team (Icelandic: Íslenska karlalandsliðið í körfubolta) represents Iceland in international basketball tournaments. The team is controlled by the Icelandic Basketball Association.

Iceland has qualified for the EuroBasket three times in their history, with the national team making their first appearance in 2015. They have also participated at smaller European tournaments, such as the Games of the Small States of Europe.

History

EuroBasket 2015

On 28 August 2014, Iceland qualified for the EuroBasket 2015, entering the finals of the top European competition for the first time in its history. The national team though didn't fare too well in their maiden voyage at the EuroBasket. Finishing (0-5) in their Group B pool, played in Berlin with defeats at the hands of Germany, Italy, Serbia, Spain, and Turkey. Overall it was a memorable moment for Iceland, where they finally achieved the feat of competing at a major international tournament, after numerous failed qualifications in the past.[2]

EuroBasket 2017

EuroBasket 2017 match between Finland and Iceland in Helsinki, Finland

On 17 September 2016, Iceland repeated their success and qualified to the continental tournament once again. The national team finished its qualification group as the runners-up behind Belgium, and above Cyprus and Switzerland, with four wins and two losses.[3][4][5]

As in the previous edition though, Iceland finished their participation with five loses in five matches played in their Group A pool in Helsinki.[6]

EuroBasket 2022 qualification

After failing to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup,[7] Iceland turned the page toward EuroBasket 2022. To attempt to qualify for three consecutive EuroBasket appearances, Iceland was placed into Group C to begin their pre-qualifying campaign, which began with two straight loses to Portugal, and Belgium. Although the national team would pick up their first win in their third game, a rematch with Portugal at home in Reykjavík. In their final match of group play the team fell to Belgium, and would have to survive the final window of pre-qualifiers if they were to advance.

For the final phase of pre-qualifiers, Iceland was placed into Group H, alongside Portugal once again, and Switzerland. The national team opened up group play with a tough loss on the road against Portugal 80–79. Looking to even their record at (1-1), Iceland was at home against Switzerland. The match stayed close throughout until Martin Hermannsson's heroics showed up late in the fourth quarter for Iceland; where his jumpshot in the final seconds gave the home side an momentous 83–82 victory.[8] Heading into their next match the national team looked to capitalize on their last win. They did so in thorough fashion, dismantling Portugal 96–68 to set up one last show down with the Swiss.[9]

Heading into the final match day with a place in the qualifiers on the line, Iceland needed to defeat Switzerland on the road in an hostile environment. The specifics for Iceland was clear, either win to clinch a spot, or avoid losing by 18 or more points. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened. As the national team not only lost to Switzerland, but failed to cover the point difference needed to advance. Losing 109–85, eliminating any chance for Iceland to reach the finals for the third straight time.[10]

EuroBasket 2025

On 23 February 2025, Iceland qualified for EuroBasket 2025 after beating Turkey 83–71, and securing second place in Group B.[11]

Competitive record

Results and fixtures

  Win   Loss

2024

22 February 2024 Iceland  70–65  Hungary Reykjavík, Iceland
19:30 (UTC±0) Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 17–18, 16–14, 21–14
Pts: Hermannsson 17
Rebs: Hlinason 11
Asts: Friðriksson 8
Boxscore Pts: Golomán, Perl 12
Rebs: Golomán, Hopkins 8
Asts: Perl 6
Arena: Laugardalshöll
Attendance: 2,000
Referees: Andris Aunkrogers (LAT), Ariadna Chueca (ESP), Zdenko Tomašovič (SVK)
25 February 2024 Turkey  76–75  Iceland Istanbul, Turkey
16:00 (UTC+3) Scoring by quarter: 16–16, 19–14, 19–17, 22–28
Pts: Şanlı 20
Rebs: Şanlı 12
Asts: Sipahi 7
Boxscore Pts: Hermannsson 15
Rebs: Hlinason 10
Asts: Friðriksson 5
Arena: Sinan Erdem Dome
Attendance: 13,300
Referees: Ademir Zurapović (BIH), Geert Jacobs (BEL), Petar Pešić (SRB)
22 November 2024 Iceland  71–95  Italy Reykjavík, Iceland
19:30 (UTC±0) Scoring by quarter: 12–27, 13–22, 29–16, 17–30
Pts: Friðriksson, Hlinason 15
Rebs: Hlinason 8
Asts: Friðriksson, Guðmundsson 4
Boxscore Pts: Basile 19
Rebs: Akele 10
Asts: Spissu 8
Arena: Laugardalshöll
Attendance: 2,132
Referees: Boris Krejić (SVN), Dariusz Zapolski (POL), Josip Jurčević (CRO)
25 November 2024 Italy  74–81  Iceland Reggio Emilia, Italy
20:30 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 9–22, 20–10, 27–26, 18–23
Pts: Ricci 18
Rebs: Melli 11
Asts: Spissu 6
Boxscore Pts: Pálsson 22
Rebs: Hlinason 8
Asts: Friðriksson 8
Arena: PalaBigi
Attendance: 4,500
Referees: Luis Castillo (ESP), Petar Pešić (SRB), Ivor Matějek (CZE)

2025

20 February 2025 Hungary  87–78  Iceland Szombathely, Hungary
18:00 (UTC+1) Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 28–11, 24–25, 15–21
Pts: Perl 25
Rebs: Reuvers 9
Asts: Somogyi, Váradi 4
Boxscore Pts: Hermannsson 25
Rebs: Hlinason 11
Asts: Friðriksson 10
Arena: Arena Savaria
Attendance: 2,300
Referees: Julio Anaya (PAN), Georgios Poursanidis (GRE), Carsten Straube (GER)
23 February 2025 Iceland  83–71  Turkey Reykjavík, Iceland
19:30 (UTC±0) Scoring by quarter: 26–16, 20–22, 23–16, 14–17
Pts: Hermannsson 23
Rebs: Hlinason 11
Asts: Friðriksson, Steinarsson 5
Boxscore Pts: Yaşar 16
Rebs: Sipahi 8
Asts: Sipahi 10
Arena: Laugardalshöll
Attendance: 2,300
Referees: Aleksandar Glišić (SRB), Alexandre Deman (FRA), Juozas Barkauskas (LTU)

Team

Current roster

Roster for the EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers matches on 20 and 23 February 2025 against Hungary and Turkey.[12]

Iceland men's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
PG 3 Ægir Steinarsson 33 – (1991-05-10)10 May 1991 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Stjarnan Iceland
PG 5 Hilmar Smári Henningsson 24 – (2000-09-03)3 September 2000 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Stjarnan Iceland
SF 6 Jón Axel Guðmundsson 28 – (1996-10-27)27 October 1996 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Burgos Spain
PG 10 Elvar Már Friðriksson 30 – (1994-11-11)11 November 1994 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Maroussi Greece
G 12 Kári Jónsson 27 – (1997-08-27)27 August 1997 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Valur Iceland
G 14 Kristinn Pálsson 27 – (1997-12-17)17 December 1997 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Valur Iceland
SG 15 Martin Hermannsson 30 – (1994-09-16)16 September 1994 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Alba Berlin Germany
F 24 Haukur Pálsson 32 – (1992-05-18)18 May 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Álftanes Iceland
SF 29 Orri Gunnarsson 21 – (2003-08-21)21 August 2003 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) Stjarnan Iceland
C 32 Tryggvi Hlinason 27 – (1997-10-28)28 October 1997 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) Bilbao Spain
F 34 Styrmir Snær Þrastarson 23 – (2001-08-02)2 August 2001 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Mons-Hainaut Belgium
F 41 Bjarni Jónsson 25 – (1999-06-14)14 June 1999 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Stjarnan Iceland
PG 66 Sigtryggur Arnar Björnsson 31 – (1993-03-07)7 March 1993 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Tindastóll Iceland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the competition
  • Age – describes age
    on 20 February 2025

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Tryggvi Hlinason Ragnar Nathanaelsson Tómas Þórður Hilmarsson
PF Kristinn Pálsson Kristófer Acox Ólafur Ólafsson
SF Jón Axel Guðmundsson Gunnar Ólafsson Haukur Pálsson
SG Martin Hermannsson Kári Jónsson Hörður Vilhjálmsson
PG Elvar Már Friðriksson Ægir Steinarsson Sigtryggur Arnar Björnsson

Head coach position

Individual records

Players with the most caps (games played)

  • Players in bold are still active.
Rank Player Years Caps
1. Guðmundur Bragason 1987-2003 169
2. Valur Ingimundarson 1980-1995 164
3. Jón Kr. Gíslason 1982-1995 158
4. Logi Gunnarsson 2000-2018 147
5. Torfi Magnússon 1974-1987 131
6. Hlynur Bæringsson 2000-2019 125
7. Guðjón Skúlason 1988-1999 122
8. Jón Sigurðsson 1968-1984 120
9. Teitur Örlygsson 1986-2000 118
10. Friðrik Stefánsson 1997-2008 112
11. Herbert Arnarson 1991-2002 111
12. Falur Harðarson 1989-2000 106
13. Jón Arnar Ingvarsson 1990-2000 102
14. Jón Arnór Stefánsson 2000-2019 100

Past rosters

2015 EuroBasket: finished 24th among 24 teams

3 Martin Hermannsson, 4 Axel Kárason, 5 Ragnar Nathanaelsson, 6 Jakob Sigurðarson, 8 Hlynur Bæringsson (C),
9 Jón Arnór Stefánsson, 10 Helgi Már Magnússon, 13 Hörður Vilhjálmsson, 14 Logi Gunnarsson, 15 Pavel Ermolinskij,
24 Haukur Pálsson, 29 Ægir Steinarsson (Coach: Craig Pedersen)


2017 EuroBasket: finished 24th among 24 teams

1 Martin Hermannsson, 3 Ægir Steinarsson, 6 Kristófer Acox, 8 Hlynur Bæringsson (C), 9 Jón Arnór Stefánsson,
10 Elvar Már Friðriksson, 13 Hörður Vilhjálmsson, 14 Logi Gunnarsson, 15 Pavel Ermolinskij, 24 Haukur Pálsson, 34 Tryggvi Hlinason, 88 Brynjar Þór Björnsson (Coach: Craig Pedersen)

See also

References

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