Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, has climbed to 8th place in the latest FIBA Women’s World Rankings, following their historic run at the 2025 AfroBasket in Abidjan.
The new rankings, released on Thursday, show Nigeria moving up three spots from 11th to 8th with 640.1 points — the first African team ever to break into the world’s top 10.
Their commanding 78–64 victory in the AfroBasket final secured a seventh continental title and extended their remarkable unbeaten streak in the tournament to 29 games, dating back to 2015.
The United States maintained its dominance at No. 1 with 880.9 points, followed by Australia (719.6), France (719.2), China (712.7), and Belgium (702.1). Spain, Canada, and now Nigeria completed the global top eight.
The ranking boost comes just weeks after D’Tigress made African basketball history by becoming the first team — male or female — to win five consecutive AfroBasket titles.
Lithuania also made headlines in Europe, climbing 14 places to 31st after reaching the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket quarter-finals in their first appearance in a decade.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s women’s team marked their AfroBasket debut with a stunning third-place finish, one of the standout stories of the tournament. Elsewhere, Lebanon surged 13 spots to 41st, Indonesia leapt 19 places to 60th, Iran rose 15 to 44th, and Mongolia climbed 20 to 70th after their Division B campaign at the Asia Cup.
