The first FIBA EuroBasket since 1939 resumed European basketball competition after World War II and saw the earliest recorded use of the jump shot in the tournament.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 4th FIBA EuroBasket
- Host country
- Switzerland (2nd time hosting)
- Teams participating
- 10 national teams
- Gap since last edition
- 7 years (last held 1939)
- Notable innovation
- Jump shot, pioneered by Giuseppe Stefanini (Italy)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
World War II had suspended FIBA EuroBasket since 1939, creating a seven-year hiatus in European basketball's premier international competition. With the war's end in 1945, FIBA was able to reorganize and schedule a return to continental championship play.
The 1946 FIBA European Championship was held in Geneva, Switzerland, marking the fourth edition of EuroBasket. Ten FIBA-affiliated national teams participated, and Switzerland hosted the tournament for the second time. The competition is notably associated with the earliest documented use of the jump shot, introduced by Italian player Giuseppe Stefanini.
The tournament's resumption reestablished European basketball's competitive structure after the wartime break. The introduction of the jump shot by Giuseppe Stefanini at this championship marked a technical evolution in the sport that would eventually become a fundamental element of basketball worldwide.