2006 World Basketball Championships

Photo of United States basketball star, Lebron James.

Courtesy USA Basketball

The 2006 World Basketball Championships are in Japan.

Courtesy of FIBA

The world's top b-ball stars are in Japan for the 2006 World Basketball Championships. Find out more about this international b-ball tournament right here.

World Basketball Championships - History

The first World Basketball Championships were held in Argentina in 1950. Argentina won the title with a 64-50 victory over the United States. The USA didn't take the tournament all that seriously and was represented by a corporate team from a car factory in Denver.

The United States sent a team of professional basketball stars to the World Championships for the first time in 1994 in Toronto. That team included Shaquille O'Neal and Reggie Miller and it easily took the gold medal with a victory over Russia.

The World Basketball Championships were held in the United States for the first time in 2002, when Indianapolis was the host city. Despite having a team that was loaded with superstars, including Ben Wallace, Shawn Marion and Paul Pierce, the United States had a disappointing tournament and finished in 6th place.

The World Basketball Championships have now grown to include 24 countries and are held every four years. The 2010 Championships will be held in Turkey.

World Basketball Championships - Records

Yugoslavia has won the World Basketball Championships a record five times. The USA and Russia have each won the tournament three times.

Jae Hur of South Korea holds the record for most points scored in a game at the World Basketball Championships. He poured in 62 points at the 1990 tournament in a game against Egypt.

At the 1974 World Basketball Championships, Russia defeated the overmatched Central African Republic 140-48 - the biggest margest of victory in the tournament's history.

At 7 feet, five inches tall (2.26 meters), NBA giant Yao Ming, is the tallest player to ever play at the World Basketball Championships.

World Basketball Championships - Players To Watch

The United States is the only team at the 24 nation tournament that is made entirely of NBA players. NBA stars from Team USA include Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh.

Other international NBA stars at the World Basketball Championships include Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs.

The finals of the World Basketball Championships will be held September 4, 2006. The winner will automatically qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.

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