Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament explained

Size:	150
City:	Athens
Country:	Greece
Dates:	15 – 28 August
Num Teams:	12
Confederations:	5
Venues:	2
Cities:	1
Champion:	ARG
Count:	1
Second:	ITA
Third:	USA
Fourth:	LTU
Games:	42
Mvp:	Manu Ginóbili
Top Scorer:	Pau Gasol (22.4 points per game)
Prevseason:	Sydney 2000
Nextseason:	Beijing 2008

The men's basketball tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece began on 15 August and ended on 28 August, when Argentina defeated Italy 84–69 for the gold medal. The games were held at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena and Olympic Indoor Hall.

Qualification

See main article: article and Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification.

Country	Qualified as	Date of qualification	Previous appearance
			1996
			2000
			2000
			2000
			2000
			2000
			2000
			1996
			1996
			2000
			2000
			2000

Format

• Twelve teams are split into two preliminary round groups of six teams each.
• The top four teams from both groups qualify for the knockout stage.
• Fifth-placed teams from both groups compete for ninth place in an additional game.
• Sixth-placed teams from both groups compete for 11th place in an additional game.
• In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1.
  • From the eliminated teams at the quarterfinals, the loser from A1 vs. B4 competes against the loser from B1 vs. A4 for seventh place in an additional game. The remaining two loser teams compete for fifth place in an additional game.
• The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals as follows: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1.
• The winning teams from the semifinals contest the gold medal. The losing teams contest the bronze.

Tie-breaking criteria:

1. Head to head results
2. Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
3. Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group

Squads

See main article: article and Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads.

Preliminary round

Group A

All times are local (UTC+3)

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Group B

All times are local (UTC+3)

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Classification games

All times are local (UTC+3)

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Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

In spite of an undefeated preliminary round, the Spaniards were defeated by the United States (3–2 in group play) to the chagrin of Spanish head coach Mario Pesquera.

Unlike their Spanish counterparts, however, the Lithuanians had an easy time disposing of the Del Harris-led Chinese squad.

Argentina, led by 13 points from both Manu Ginóbili and Fabricio Oberto, disposed of the home squad, led by the 12 points from Nikos Chatzivrettas.

All times are local (UTC+3)

Semifinals

All times are local (UTC+3)

Bronze medal game

The United States won its first bronze medal since 1988 by avenging the preliminary loss to Lithuania of one week earlier.

All times are local (UTC+3)

Gold medal game

Argentina won its first ever Olympic gold medal in basketball and became the first Latin and Hispanic nation to obtain an Olympic gold medal in men's basketball.

All times are local (UTC+3)

Awards

MVP Manu Ginóbili^[1]

Statistical leaders

Top ten in points, rebounds and assists, and top 5 in steals and blocks.

Points

Name	PPG
	22.4
	21.0
	20.7
	19.3
	19.3
	18.8
	17.6
	16.7
	15.9
	14.6

Rebounds

Name	RPG
	9.3
	9.2
	9.1
	9.0
	7.3
	7.0
	6.5
	6.1
	5.9
	5.8

Assists

Name	APG
	5.6
	5.2
	4.5
	4.3
	3.5
	3.4
	3.3
	3.0
	2.8
	2.7

Steals

Name	SPG
	2.8
	2.3
	2.1
	2.0
	1.8

Blocks

Name	BPG
	1.9
	1.4
	1.1
	1.0
	1.0

Game highs

Department	Name	Total	Opponent
Points		39
Rebounds		16
Assists		12
Steals		5
Blocks		5
Turnovers		7	(both players)

Final standings

Rank	width=180px	Team !	width=20px	Pld !	width=20px	W !	width=20px	L
Gold medal game participants
		8	6	2
		8	5	3
Bronze medal game participants
		8	5	3
4th		8	6	2
Eliminated at the quarterfinals
5th		7	4	3
6th		7	3	4
7th		7	6	1
8th		7	2	5
Preliminary round 5th placers
9th		6	2	4
10th		6	1	5
Preliminary round 6th placers
11th		6	2	4
12th		6	0	6

See also

• Women's Tournament

References

• 2004 Olympics: Tournament for Men, FIBA Archive. Accessed June 24, 2011.
• Official Olympic Report, la84foundation.org. Accessed June 24, 2011.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2004 Olympic Games: Tournament for Men. FIBA. 14 September 2023. 14 September 2023.

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