Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have climbed to 8th place in the latest FIBA Women’s World Rankings, retaining their status as the best team in Africa.
The new rankings, released on Thursday, 14 August, see Nigeria move up three spots from 11th, now boasting 640.1 points. They remain the only African side — male or female, to ever make the global top 10.
The United States lead the table with 880.9 points, followed by Australia (719.6), France (719.2), China (712.7) and Belgium (702.1). Spain, Canada and now Nigeria complete the top eight.
The rise comes after D’Tigress made history by winning a record fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title in Abidjan. They defeated Senegal 78–64 in the final at the Palais des Sports de Treichville to claim their seventh overall crown.
The victory also extended their remarkable unbeaten streak in the competition to 29 games, a run that began in 2015.
Elsewhere in the new rankings, Lithuania jumped 14 spots to 31st after a strong showing at the Women’s EuroBasket, while South Sudan marked their AfroBasket Women debut with a historic third-place finish. Lebanon rose to 41st, Indonesia to 60th, Iran to 44th, and Mongolia climbed to 70th.
