While much of European basketball’s history has been surrounded by the dominance of just a handful of countries, the start of the 21st century has exemplified the power of basketball across the continent with three different champions.

In their final EuroBasket appearance as Yugoslavia, Dejan Bodiroga and Co claimed the title.

Just 2 years after its creation in 1932, the young International Basketball Federation reached a landmark achievement in having basketball included as an Olympic sport for the 1936 Games in Berlin. Preparation for the Olympics were key and in 1933 it was decided that a European Championship would be held as a test event.

FIBA at the time was based in Geneva, Switzerland and Secretary General William Jones scheduled the event to take place in Geneva in May 1935.

The Second World War had had a huge impact on Europe. Not only were many countries facing huge economic difficulties, but the map had changed and notably, Lithuania and Latvia the championship’s first winners, had been annexed to the Soviet Union.

FIBA wanted to organise a European Championship in 1945 and hoped to use sport as part of Europe’s healing process. Unfortunately most national federations had disappeared and the majority of the players had been conscripted into the armed forces.

The Soviets established an almost total control over European basketball in the 1950’s. they won 4 out of 5 European Championships and finished third in 1955. Their overall tally in the decade was played 49, won 47, lost 2. Both losses came in the 1955 championship.

Stipas Butautas was the Soviet’s top scorer in the 1951 championship, but it was in the height department where they really outmatched their opponents. In 1955, the 214 cm center Vladimir Krumminch made his debut in an era when most centers just about reached the 2 metre mark.

Until 1961, the European Championship was open to any country who wished to register. The result was that more and more teams wanted to play and the competition was becoming difficult to organise.

In 1961, FIBA decided to reduce the number of participants in the final round to 16. The decision came into effect at the 1963 tournament in Wroclaw, Poland. Registration was still open to anybody, but qualification rounds would be held to determine the final 16.

If Yugoslavia had been nipping at the Soviets’ heels in the 60’s, in the 70’s they tore a huge chunk out of their dominance. After the decade was over Yugoslavia had won 3 gold medals, to 2 for the Soviets and established themselves as Europe’s premier force.

The battle for supremacy began at the 1970 World Championships. Yugoslavia was the home nation and emerged with the first major title in the country’s history, but the win came with a slight asterisk. The format of the competition was round robin in the final round and although Yugoslavia topped the standings with a 5-1 record, their only loss was to the Soviets, 72-87.

The 1980’s saw basketball’s talent pool replenished with players who would go on to become legends of the game. Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis, Nikos Galis, Detlef Schrempf, Fernando Martin were just some of the names who emerged during the 80’s and brought basketball roaring into the modern era as we know it.

With European players improving at breakneck speed, it was not long before the NBA began to reach out its feelers for international talent. The 1985 European Championship in Germany was the first time that NBA scouts were present en masse to assess Europe’s best players.

The beginning of the 1990’s saw major political upheaval across Europe, as communist regimes began to collapse and the iron curtain gradually disintegrated.

The effect of this change on the basketball landscape was profound, as it led to the collapse of the two basketball superpowers, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.