Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, has reached a milestone never before achieved by any African basketball squad — men’s or women’s — by breaking into the top 10 of the FIBA Women’s World Rankings.
The latest ranking, released Thursday, saw Nigeria soar three places to 8th position with 640.1 points, climbing from their previous 11th spot. This leap follows their spectacular performance at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in Abidjan, where they clinched a seventh championship title with a decisive 78–64 victory in the final.
The victory extended their unbeaten AfroBasket streak to 29 games, a dominance stretching back to 2015. It also sealed their fifth consecutive AfroBasket crown, cementing their status as the unquestioned queens of African basketball.
In the global rankings, the United States remains unshaken at the top with 880.9 points, followed by Australia (719.6) and France (719.2). China sits in fourth with 712.7 points, Belgium in fifth with 702.1, while Spain, Canada, and now Nigeria complete the world’s elite eight.
Other nations also experienced ranking surges: Lithuania climbed 14 places to 31st after returning to the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket and reaching the quarter-finals, South Sudan made an explosive AfroBasket Women debut to claim third place, while Lebanon, Indonesia, Iran, and Mongolia also recorded double-digit jumps in the global standings.
This achievement by D’Tigress is a landmark for Africa’s basketball journey and a clear message to the world: Nigeria is not just competing — they are redefining the game.
okaynews.com reports that with this leap, Nigeria now stands as the only African nation in the top 10, an inspiration for future generations of players across the continent.
