How the basketball world ranking works
Can a basketball team lose ranking points by losing a game?
Not any more. Since November 2025 FIBA's ranking only adds: every team earns points from every official game, and the winner earns more. The points depend on how big the game is (a World Cup semi-final is worth far more than a qualifier), the region (games inside Asia count for less than games inside Europe), and for the winner, how strong the opponent was, whether it won away from home and by how much.
To stop old results counting for ever, every team's total is cut by a third before each major tournament: the World Cup, the Olympics and the continental cups such as the Asia Cup. Everyone is cut by the same share, so the order does not change on the day.
For India, playing more official games always helps: playing is always better than not playing.
The one thing to remember: in basketball, every game adds points; it is the regular one-third cut that makes old results fade.
The formula (men)
Loser: G = B × R × S
Winner: G × W × O × A × M
| Factor | What it is | Value |
|---|---|---|
| B | Base | 10 |
| R | Region (for games within one region) | Europe 1.00; Americas 0.93; Africa 0.69; Asia (with Oceania) 0.68; games between regions 1 |
| S | Stage of the competition | See the table below |
| W | Winning | 1.25 |
| O | Opponent's strength | 1 + 0.0001 × the loser's total before the game |
| A | Away win | 1.1 if the winner beat a team at home; otherwise 1 |
| M | Margin | 1.20 for 30 points or more; 1.05 for 15 or more; otherwise 1 |
Region factors are set for 2025-2029 from how each region's teams have done against other regions.
The stage factor S
| Stage | Small Countries | Continental Cups | Olympics | World Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-qualification | 0.4 | 0.15 | 0.4 | |
| Qualification | 0.8 | 0.30 | 1.0 (first round), 1.2 (second round) | |
| Group stage | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.75 | 2.0 |
| Classification to 16 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.75 | 2.0 |
| Round of 16 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.50 | 4.0 |
| Classification 5-8 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.50 | 4.0 |
| Quarter-final | 0.2 | 2.5 | 4.375 | 5.0 |
| Third-place game | 0.2 | 3.0 | 5.25 | 6.0 |
| Semi-final | 0.2 | 3.5 | 6.125 | 7.0 |
| Final | 0.2 | 4.0 | 7.00 | 8.0 |
The cut before major events
Before each World Cup, Olympic tournament and continental cup, every team's total is multiplied by 0.66. Three cuts per four-year cycle; the next are on 1 April 2027 (before the World Cup), 1 June 2028 (before the Olympics) and 2 April 2029 (before the continental cups). A team that has played no FIBA competition for eight years drops off.
When it is published
After every major FIBA tournament and regularly after the qualifier windows. It is used for draw seedings.
A worked example
Made up to show the arithmetic. At the Asia Cup (a continental cup, so R = 0.68), Team A beats Team B in a quarter-final (S = 2.5) at a neutral venue, by 16 points. Team B's total before the game is 200.
- Team B (loser): 10 × 0.68 × 2.5 = 17 points.
- Team A (winner): 17 × 1.25 × 1.02 × 1 × 1.05 = about 22.76 points.
Both add these to their totals.
Women's ranking
The same method, with two changes for the women's calendar, which has a major event every year: the cut is 25 per cent before each major event, and the ranking is updated at most twice a year (after the main event and in March).
Variations
| Ranking | Covered here |
|---|---|
| Men's 5-a-side | Yes |
| Women's 5-a-side | Yes, the differences |
| Youth | No: to be reviewed at the end of 2026 |
| 3x3 | No: player-based, see the LA28 3x3 page |