Ukraine made their EuroBasket debut in 1997. Their first match at the tournament was not a warm welcome for the national team, as they were demolished by Spain 54-82. With less than 24 hours to regroup for their next game, Ukraine faced Germany where they lost again, this time by the score of 81-60. In their final match in group play, they defeated Croatia 88-95, to earn their first ever win at the EuroBasket. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the team to advance to the knockout stage so they were relegated to the classification rounds for 13th-16th place. There, the team defeated Latvia and Slovenia to finish the tournament 13th overall.