2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation, Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee.
For the first time since 1986, the World Championship was contested by 24 nations, eight more than in 2002. As a result, group rounds were conducted in four cities, with the knockout rounds being hosted by Saitama City.
The tournament was won by Spain, who, in the championship final, beat Greece, 70–47, to finish the tournament having won all nine games played. For Spain, it was a record breaking performance at the FIBA World Championship and something the country had never seen before. It was the first time Spain had won Gold in the FIBA World Championship along with it being the first time Spain had won a medal at the FIBA world championship. Pau Gasol also became the first Spaniard to win the MVP award. It was the first time a country has won all nine of its games since 1994 when the United States won all nine games and took the gold medal home. The bronze medal was won by the United States, who defeated Argentina, 96–81, in the third place game, after a crushing loss by Greece. Up to 2014, including the 2014 tournament, it has been the only tournament where neither Yugoslavia or the USA have reached the final until 2019. The 2006 tournament marked the final appearance of Serbia and Montenegro as they broke up into the independent nations of Serbia and Montenegro after a successful independence referendum in Montenegro in May.
Venues
Qualification
Squads
At the start of tournament, all 24 participating countries had 12 players on their roster.Competing nations
The following national teams competed:| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
 Argentina France Lebanon Nigeria Serbia and Montenegro Venezuela |  Angola Germany Japan New Zealand  Panama Spain |  Australia Brazil Greece Lithuania Qatar Turkey |  China Italy Puerto Rico Senegal Slovenia United States |
Japan qualified as the host country, and Italy, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey gained FIBA wild-card invitations. Argentina qualified as the champion of the 2004 Olympics. The remaining 18 countries qualified through their continents' qualifying tournaments.
The draw for the 2006 World Championship was held in Tokyo on 15 January 2006. In the preliminary rounds, Group A played at Sendai, Group B at Hiroshima, Group C at Hamamatsu and Group D at Sapporo. The Medal Rounds were played at Saitama.
Preliminary rounds
Group A ([Sendai])
August 19, 2006August 20, 2006
August 21, 2006
August 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
Group B ([Hiroshima])
August 19, 2006August 20, 2006
August 21, 2006
August 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
Group C ([Hamamatsu])
August 19, 2006August 20, 2006
August 22, 2006
August 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
Group D ([Sapporo])
August 19, 2006August 20, 2006
August 22, 2006
August 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
Knockout stage
Venue: Saitama Super ArenaFifth through eighth place
Final
Since the inaugural competition one of the two teams competing for the title had been either the USA or Yugoslavia. After the latter's breakup, a Former Yugoslav Republic, Serbia, has taken its place in the final. The 2006 final was the first in which none of these two teams competed. The final was an unexpectedly one-sided affair, with Spain dominating from the beginning and limiting Greece to just 47 points, fewer than the Greeks had scored in any single game in the tournament, and less than half what Greece had scored against the US in the semifinals. Spain won despite having lost power forward Pau Gasol, who was ultimately named the tournament's most valuable player, to injury in a semifinal match against Argentina.Final rankings
- Teams that were eliminated at the round of 16 are officially tied for 9th.
- Teams that were 5th at their preliminary rounds are officially tied for 17th.
- Teams that were 6th at their preliminary rounds are officially tied for 21st.
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | 9–0 | |
| 2 | 8–1 | |
| 3 | 8–1 | |
| 4 | 7–2 | |
| 5 | 6–3 | |
| 6 | 6–3 | |
| 7 | 5–4 | |
| 8 | 5–4 | |
| 9 | 3–3 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 9 | 4–2 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 9 | 2–4 | |
| 17 | 1–4 | |
| 17 | 1–4 | |
| 17 | 2–3 | |
| 17 | 2–3 | |
| 21 | 0–5 | |
| 21 | 0–5 | |
| 21 | 0–5 | |
| 21 | 1–4 |
Awards
| Most Valuable Player |
| Pau Gasol |
All-Tournament Team
- Pau Gasol
- Jorge Garbajosa
- Carmelo Anthony
- Manu Ginóbili
- Theodoros Papaloukas
Leading scorers