Last Wednesday, FIBA officially banned Russia and Belarus from participating in any of its international competitions until further notice. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February and the ongoing war since then. Belarus is banned because it has housed Russian military forces for the invasion.
That will affect a number of competitions this year. They include:
- EuroBasket 2022 this September — Russia was in a good position to qualify as late as last February, but ultimately couldn’t because of the timing of the Ukrainian invasion. Israel, Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija’s national team, is in Group D.