Australia men's national basketball team

Australia

FIBA ranking	5 1 (1 March 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1947
FIBA zone	FIBA Asia
National federation	Basketball Australia
Coach	Brian Goorjian
Nickname(s)	Boomers
Olympic Games
Appearances	15
Medals	Bronze: (2020)
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	13
Medals	None
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances	2
Medals	Gold: (2017, 2022)
FIBA Oceania Championship
Appearances	21
Medals	Gold: (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015) Silver: (2001, 2009)
Home Away
First international
Brazil 89–66 Australia  (Melbourne, Australia; 24 November 1956)
Biggest win
Australia 136–31 Tahiti  (Timaru, New Zealand; 31 August 1987)
Biggest defeat
United States 113–73 Australia  (Saitama, Japan; 27 August 2006)

The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition.^[2]

Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, as the Boomers have reached the semi-finals at both Summer Olympic Games and FIBA World Cup on many occasions. Originally a member of the FIBA Oceania region, Australia nowadays competes at the FIBA Asia Cup where the Boomers were the dominant team at their first appearance. The FIBA Oceania Championship mostly consisted of a three-match competition against the other regional power, the New Zealand Tall Blacks. Before the formation of the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1979, Boomers players were selected from state leagues around the country, with Victoria, South Australia, and to a lesser extent New South Wales the dominant states. After the formation of the NBL, players began to be selected almost exclusively from that competition during the 1980s and 1990s.

Occasionally players were selected from outside the NBL. Mark Bradtke made his Boomers debut in 1987 while attending the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) before he entered the NBL. Luc Longley made his debut in 1988 while playing college basketball in the United States. Other Australian players enter the Euroleague and the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the U.S. The Boomers's roster for the 2014 World Cup included five NBA players: Cameron Bairstow with the Chicago Bulls, Aron Baynes with the San Antonio Spurs, Matthew Dellavedova with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dante Exum and Joe Ingles with the Utah Jazz. Three other players who were ruled out of the World Cup due to injury also played or would later play in the NBA, namely Andrew Bogut, Ben Simmons and Patty Mills.

Several players on youth national teams are student athletes at the AIS or in the US college basketball system. Some players (e.g. Longley) made the senior national team while at US schools. By the early 21st century, almost half of the squad played outside Australia. For the 2012 London Olympic Games, only two members of the Australian squad were based in the country – Peter Crawford and Adam Gibson, with the latter being the only Australia-based member of the 2014 World Cup squad.

Australia has participated in the Olympic men's basketball tournaments 15 times. The Boomers won a bronze medal against Slovenia in the 2020 Olympic Games, making Australia the first team from outside the Americas and European regions to ever win a medal at the event. Australia has also participated in 12 FIBA World Cups without winning a medal, making Australia the nation with the third-most appearances at the tournament without winning a medal, behind Canada and Puerto Rico (both 14).