2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup

United States

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2002 FIBA World Cup result: FR Yugoslavia won gold, Argentina silver, Germany bronze, at United States. Final: 84-77 (OT).

Sourcing caveat: One AI-summarized fetch badly hallucinated this edition's result, reporting gold=France and silver=Serbia and Montenegro — neither of which reached that final. Confirmed via FIBA's own retrospective, a dedicated Wikipedia article on the 2002 final, and Eurohoops coverage that FR Yugoslavia beat Argentina 84-77 in overtime, with Germany taking bronze.

Result

CountryResult
GoldFR Yugoslavia84-77 (OT)
SilverArgentina
BronzeGermany

FR Yugoslavia's second title, the first repeat champion since 1963. Host USA, with an NBA-stocked roster, suffered a historic collapse — losing three of its last four games, including to Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals after squandering a 10-point lead — to finish sixth, its worst-ever World Cup result and the end of a 58-0 record using NBA players in FIBA global competition since 1992.

Games

StageDateResultVenue
Preliminary Round (Group A) / Second RoundAugust 29, 2002FR Yugoslavia 113–63 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group A)August 29, 2002Spain 85–54 CanadaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group A)August 30, 2002Angola 84–74 CanadaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group A) / Second RoundAugust 30, 2002Spain 71–69 FR YugoslaviaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group A) / Second RoundAugust 31, 2002Spain 88–55 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group A)August 31, 2002FR Yugoslavia 87–71 CanadaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B)August 29, 2002Brazil 102–73 LebanonIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B) / Second RoundAugust 29, 2002Puerto Rico 78–75 TurkeyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B)August 30, 2002Puerto Rico 99–77 LebanonIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B) / Second RoundAugust 30, 2002Brazil 88–86 TurkeyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B)August 31, 2002Turkey 107–80 LebanonIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group B) / Second RoundAugust 31, 2002Brazil 90–86 Puerto RicoIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C) / Second RoundAugust 29, 2002Germany 88–76 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C)August 29, 2002USA 110–60 AlgeriaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C) / Second RoundAugust 30, 2002USA 104–87 GermanyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C)August 30, 2002China 96–82 AlgeriaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C)August 31, 2002Germany 102–70 AlgeriaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group C) / Second RoundAugust 31, 2002USA 84–65 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D) / Second RoundAugust 29, 2002New Zealand 90–81 RussiaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D)August 29, 2002Argentina 107–72 VenezuelaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D)August 30, 2002New Zealand 98–85 VenezuelaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D) / Second RoundAugust 30, 2002Argentina 100–81 RussiaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D)August 31, 2002Russia 86–69 VenezuelaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Preliminary Round (Group D) / Second RoundAugust 31, 2002Argentina 112–85 New ZealandIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification RoundSeptember 2, 2002Canada 91–67 LebanonIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification RoundSeptember 2, 2002Venezuela 98–83 AlgeriaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (15th place)September 3, 2002Algeria 100–70 LebanonIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (13th place)September 3, 2002Canada 98–97 VenezuelaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002Spain 87–64 TurkeyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002Brazil 86–83 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002Puerto Rico 85–83 FR YugoslaviaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002Turkey 86–66 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002FR Yugoslavia 90–69 BrazilIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002Puerto Rico 73–65 SpainIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002FR Yugoslavia 110–78 TurkeyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002Spain 84–67 BrazilIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002Puerto Rico 89–87 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002Germany 84–64 New ZealandIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002USA 106–82 RussiaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 2, 2002Argentina 95–71 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002Argentina 86–77 GermanyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002Russia 95–68 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 3, 2002USA 110–62 New ZealandIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002New Zealand 94–88 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002Germany 103–85 RussiaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Second RoundSeptember 4, 2002Argentina 87–80 USAIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
QuarterfinalSeptember 5, 2002New Zealand 65–63 Puerto RicoIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
QuarterfinalSeptember 5, 2002FR Yugoslavia 81–78 USAIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
QuarterfinalSeptember 5, 2002Germany 70–62 SpainIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
QuarterfinalSeptember 5, 2002Argentina 78–67 BrazilIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (9th-12th place)September 6, 2002Turkey 94–86 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (9th-12th place)September 6, 2002Russia 77–66 AngolaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (9th-12th place)September 7, 2002Angola 96–84 ChinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (9th-12th place)September 7, 2002Turkey 91–86 RussiaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (5th-8th place)September 6, 2002USA 84–74 Puerto RicoIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (5th-8th place)September 6, 2002Spain 105–89 BrazilIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (7th place)September 7, 2002Puerto Rico 91–84 BrazilIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Classification Round (5th place)September 7, 2002Spain 81–75 USAIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
SemifinalSeptember 7, 2002FR Yugoslavia 89–78 New ZealandIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
SemifinalSeptember 7, 2002Argentina 86–80 GermanyIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Final Stage (Bronze medal game)September 8, 2002Germany 117–94 New ZealandIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
Final Stage (Gold medal game)September 8, 2002FR Yugoslavia 84–77 ArgentinaIndianapolis, Indiana, USA

Tournament context

Indianapolis hosted the fourteenth World Championship, the tournament's first return to the United States as host since the country's own 1954 championship, staging games at Conseco Fieldhouse from late August through September 8, 2002. The American roster, coached by George Karl and built around NBA players including Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis, Elton Brand, Jermaine O'Neal, and Ben Wallace, entered the tournament having gone 58-0 with NBA-caliber talent across every FIBA global competition since 1992, a streak spanning three straight Olympic golds and the 1994 World Championship. That streak ended in the second group round, when Argentina stunned the Americans 87-80 — the first defeat by a USA team featuring NBA players in a decade of dominance. Worse followed in the quarterfinals: the United States built a 10-point lead over FR Yugoslavia with under seven minutes to play, only to watch the defending champion mount a stunning comeback and win 81-78, eliminating the Americans from title contention entirely. Relegated to a consolation bracket, the USA beat Puerto Rico 84-74 before losing to Spain 81-75, finishing sixth overall — at the time the worst finish in American men's World Championship history, a result that triggered extensive soul-searching within USA Basketball about roster construction and international readiness in the years that followed. FR Yugoslavia went on to beat Argentina 84-77 in overtime for the title, with Dejan Bodiroga coming off the bench to lead the champions with 27 points, six rebounds, and three assists, and Peja Stojakovic adding 26. Argentina, led by Fabricio Oberto's 28 points in the final, reached its first World Championship final on the strength of wins over Brazil and Germany in the knockout rounds. The victory made FR Yugoslavia the first repeat World Championship winner since Brazil's back-to-back titles in 1959 and 1963, extending the run of Serbian-led basketball success that had begun with the 1998 title under the same federation. Germany claimed the bronze medal, beating New Zealand 117-94 behind tournament MVP Dirk Nowitzki, the country's first-ever World Championship podium finish and an early marker of the international stardom Nowitzki would go on to achieve. Verifying this edition's result required unusual care: one summarized source consulted during research badly misreported the final itself, crediting France with gold and Serbia and Montenegro with silver — neither team having reached that final at all. Cross-checking FIBA's own retrospective coverage, a dedicated Wikipedia article on the 2002 final, and independent reporting on the tournament confirmed the actual result, FR Yugoslavia's overtime win over Argentina, with Germany taking bronze.

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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