Looking back at the biggest upsets in European Championship history: Doncic and Jokic both suffered, Greece's miraculous title 38 years ago

On September 7th, Beijing time, in the round of 16 of the European Championship, Finland's men's basketball team defeated Serbia 92-86, marking the biggest surprise of this edition. "We enjoy the position of being underestimated," Finland’s coach Tuovi said. "Those who are underestimated should dream big." The official European Championship website then reviewed some of the tournament’s biggest upsets in history—

Italy 2022

For Serbia, it felt like history repeating itself, as their performance in the 2022 group stage was even more impressive than in 2025, yet they stumbled and were eliminated in the round of 16.

In Berlin, Italy won the game 94-86. Jokic scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds but it was all in vain, while Spissu led Italy to victory with 22 points and 6 assists.

Poland 2022

People barely had time to process Italy’s round of 16 upset before another shock came in the quarterfinals.

Poland barely advanced from the group stage into the knockout rounds, but then they shifted gears in Germany, defeating Ukraine in the round of 16, marking the greatest win for this generation.

Ponitka was sensational, recording a triple-double with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists, beating Slovenia 90-87 and sending them home. Before that, Doncic and his teammates seemed poised to defend the title they won in 2017.

North Macedonia 2011

Fourteen years ago, this tournament was one of the strongest in European Championship history, with teams so evenly matched that predicting semifinalists was impossible. Yet no one mentioned North Macedonia. However, players like McCalebb, Antic, and Ilievski pushed into the quarterfinals, earning a chance to face the hosts. It felt like the entire Lithuanian nation traveled to Kaunas to watch, but instead of cheers, there was deafening silence.

In the quarterfinals, North Macedonia defeated Lithuania 67-65, led by McCalebb’s 23 points.

France 2005

Speaking of hosts, Serbia and Montenegro were supposed to enjoy home advantage in 2005. They assembled an incredible roster with five NBA players (Milisic, Radmanovic, Jaric, Rebraca, Kostic) and handed the coaching reins to Obradovic.

However, some young players who later became famous worldwide spoiled the home party.

In 2005, Parker, Diaw, and others were still young but managed to defeat Serbia and Montenegro 74-71 in the quarterfinal play-in game.

Latvia 2001

The tournament format was the same as in 2005, meaning group winners advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while second and third place teams faced off in play-in matches.

Lithuania believed they had a chance at a medal, especially after drawing Latvia in the play-in round.

However, they were hit hard. Latvia won decisively 94-76, eliminating the team that would later win the European Championship in Sweden.

In 2001, Lithuania was powerless against Bagatskis’ 25 points. Latvia achieved its best finish since 1939 by reaching the top eight. It was not until 2015, when Bagatskis became coach, that Latvia reached the quarterfinals again.

Germany 1993

While the teams mentioned above had single-game upsets, Germany’s 1993 championship run was among the toughest.

First, they eliminated Spain 79-77 in the quarterfinals. Then they beat Greece 76-73 in the semifinals. Finally, the late great player Welp completed a 2+1 dunk to defeat Russia 71-70.

So why was this considered an upset? Before that, Germany had never ranked higher than fifth in the European Championship. Moreover, they entered the quarterfinals as the fourth seed with a 2-3 record, while Spain, Greece, and Russia all had 4-1 records in the group stage.

Greece 1987

A similar story happened 38 years ago when Greece hosted the tournament and witnessed the Soviet Union dominate with a perfect 7-0 record heading into the final.

Meanwhile, Greece was on the brink of elimination in the group stage, only securing a spot in the quarterfinals by defeating France 82-69 in their last group game.

As the fourth seed, they upset top-seeded Italy in the quarterfinals, then beat Yugoslavia in the semifinals, and achieved the biggest upset in European basketball history of the 1980s: winning the final in overtime 103-101 against the Soviet Union.

That day, Greek legend Galis was unstoppable, scoring 40 points to bring the gold medal home. That game marked the end of the Soviet Union’s dominance in European basketball, during which they won 14 European Championship titles from 1947 to 1985.

Czechoslovakia 1985

The last upset we found occurred in the 1985 quarterfinals. Led by Petrovic, Yugoslavia was already considering a final showdown with the Soviet Union.

Czechoslovakia barely made the quarterfinals on the last day of the group stage, finishing fourth in their group and appearing to be outsiders against Yugoslavia.

But on the court, things were different. Brabenec scored 32 points, and facing Yugoslavia’s defense, the team scored a total of 102 points to win by 11. Czechoslovakia later reached the final but lost 89-120 to the Soviet Union.