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Olympic Games

When Spain qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics, where basketball was part of the games for the first time, expectations were high for the runners-up of the 1935 EuroBasket. Unfortunately, as one of the favorites to win medals, Spain could not attend the Games due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War just days before the start of the event.

Spain's first Olympic success came at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The team made it all the way to the gold medal game, before losing to the United States (led by Patrick Ewing and featuring a young Michael Jordan).

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Spain reached the gold medal game for the second time. However, in a rematch of the 1984 Olympic final, Spain fell to the United States once more. This time led by Kobe Bryant and nicknamed the "Redeem Team". The Americans won after a remarkably close game 118–107. Four years later, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United States faced Spain in the Olympic final for the third time. The USA would go on to win gold again, by the score of 107–100, with Spain coming away with its third Olympic (and second straight) silver medal. During the 2016 Summer Olympics, Spain reached the bronze medal match against Australia, where they escaped with an narrow 89–88 victory.

FIBA World Cup

During the early years of the FIBA World Cup, Spain struggled to establish a steady presence as a competitor. Between 1950 and 1970, the national team only qualified once. Then, beginning in 1974, Spain developed into a serious competitor and regularly finished among the World Cup top performers in the competitions to follow.

At the 2006 FIBA World Cup, Spain achieved their greatest success in its history, as they defeated Greece in the final to capture their first World Cup title. Held at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, the game ended by the final score of 70–47. Furthermore, Pau Gasol was named the tournament MVP, while Jorge Garbajosa was selected to the All-Tournament team. Shortly afterwards, the team were awarded with the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award in Sports.

At the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Spain won their second World Cup title by defeating Argentina in the final by the score of 95–75. The spectacular play of Ricky Rubio during the tournament earned him the MVP, while Marc Gasol was named to the All-Tournament team. After this victory, Marc Gasol became the second player in tournament history to win the NBA title and the World Cup in the same year; with the other being Lamar Odom.

EuroBasket

The first game in the history of the selection was a qualifier for the EuroBasket 1935, where Spain defeated Portugal 33–12. This event, which was held in Geneva in the summer of 1935, was the first EuroBasket game in history. Spain went on to finish as runners-up in the tournament behind Latvia.

After coming in second in 1935, 1973, 1983, 1999, 2003, and 2007, Spain won their first continental championship in 2009; defeating Serbia to become European champions. The team repeated their success in 2011, taking out France in the final. At EuroBasket 2015, Spain once again reached the title game, and demolished Lithuania in the process 80–63. Two years after winning it all in 2015, Spain followed it up with another strong performance at EuroBasket 2017, defeating Russia to win the bronze medal match. It marked the fourth time Spain won bronze at the EuroBasket, as they also won it in 1991, 2001, and 2013.

Spain captured their fourth European title at the EuroBasket 2022, after defeating France in the final once again, a rematch of the 2011 title game. Additionally, center Willy Hernangómez was selected as tournament MVP.

Other events

Besides success at the "Big Three" events (Summer Olympic Games, FIBA World Cup, and EuroBasket) Spain has also had success at the Mediterranean Games, where it has won several medals: three gold, four silver and one bronze.