Basketball at the Summer Olympics explained

Size:	150
Code:	BKB
Sport:	basketball
Menevents:	2
Womenevents:	2

Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as an unofficial demonstration event in 1904 and 1924. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976. FIBA organizes both the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the Summer Olympics basketball tournaments, which are sanctioned by the IOC.^[1]

The United States is by far the most successful country in Olympic basketball, with United States men's teams having won 17 of 20 tournaments in which they participated, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968. United States women's teams have won 10 titles out of the 12 tournaments in which they competed, including eight in a row from 1996 to 2024. Besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence which has won either the men's or women's tournament. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament. The United States are the defending champions in both men's and women's tournaments.

On 9 June 2017, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee announced that 3x3 basketball would become an official Olympic sport as of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, for both men and women.^{[2] [3]}

History

Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport. The popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) had a big part in the spread of this sport to many countries, and as many as 21 teams competed in the first Olympic basketball tournament.^[4]

American dominance

Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen^{[5] [6]} —a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Berlin Olympics on outdoor tennis courts. Dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top three teams. According to the Olympic rules of that time, all of the competitors were amateurs. The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948. The American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic tournaments through 1968, without losing a single game. While the Americans were barred from sending a team that contained players from the professional National Basketball Association, they instead sent in college players; teams from some other countries sent in their best players, as some of their players were classified as "amateur" by FIBA, by earning allowances instead of wages.

Munich and after

The U.S. winning streak ended in 1972, when the Soviet Union controversially won the gold medal game against the United States by one point.^{[7] [8]}

The U.S. team reclaimed the gold medal in 1976, with Yugoslavia, which had beaten the Soviet Union in the semifinal, finishing runner-up for the second time. In 1980, with the Americans' absence due to the boycott, Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals and Italy in the final. The Americans regained the title in 1984, by beating Spain in the final, with the Soviets boycotting this time. The Soviets won the gold medal for the second time in 1988, after beating the U.S. team for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game.

Professional era: renewed American dominance

The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union entered teams of athletes who were all nominally listed in the military, but all of whom were in fact paid by the state to train full-time.^{[4] [9] [10] [11]} In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stanković, FIBA approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, including the Olympics.^[4] In the 1992 Summer Olympics, the U.S. "Dream Team" won the gold medal with an average winning margin of 44 points per game, and without calling a timeout. By this time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia no longer existed, but their successor states continued to be among the leading forces. Two newly independent countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, Croatia and Lithuania, won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

The American team repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was not as dominant as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to compete in the Summer Olympics, the 1996 Games in Atlanta is the only instance where the Olympic host city also had a home NBA team — the Hawks. Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney, with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions.

The renewed dominance of the U.S. was interrupted in 2004, when the Americans barely made it to the semifinal, after losing to Puerto Rico and Lithuania in the preliminaries; Argentina defeated them in the semifinals, on their way to a gold medal finish, where they beat Italy in the final, and became the fourth team to win the Olympic title.

The Americans regrouped in 2008, beating the reigning FIBA world champions, Spain, in an intense gold medal game, with the Argentines beating the Lithuanians in the bronze medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the U.S. again winning, although with the closest winning margin for the American team. The U.S. won again in 2016, defeating the Serbians in the gold medal game, a rematch of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final, after eliminating the Spaniards, who settled for bronze. The American team defended their title by winning again at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, extending their run to four consecutive gold medal finishes, and seven out of the last eight.

Women

The first women's tournament was staged in the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Soviet Union won five straight games, becoming the inaugural champion. The next two tournaments followed the six-team round-robin format, with the Soviets defending their title in 1980 amid the U.S.-led boycott, and the U.S. winning in 1984, against the South Koreans, amid the Soviet-led boycott. In 1988, the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. In 1992, the Unified Team, consisting of the former Soviet republics, defeated China in the gold medal game. In 1996, the tournament settled into its current 12-team format; the U.S. has swept all of the tournaments since then, winning 61 consecutive games.

Venues

See main article: List of Olympic venues in basketball. All venues were indoor stadiums except for the 1936 tournament, which was held outdoors on lawn tennis courts.

• Berlin 1936: Reichssportfeld, Berlin
• London 1948: Harringay Arena, London
• Helsinki 1952: Tennis Palace and Messuhalli II, both in Helsinki
• Melbourne 1956: Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
• Rome 1960: Sports Arena and Sports Palace, Rome
• Tokyo 1964: Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo
• Mexico City 1968: Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City
• Munich 1972: Basketballhalle, Munich
• Montreal 1976: Étienne Desmarteau Centre and the Montreal Forum, Montreal
• Moscow 1980: CSCA Sports Palace and Olimpiysky Stadium, Moscow
• Los Angeles 1984: The Forum, Inglewood
• Seoul 1988: Jamsil Arena, Seoul
• Barcelona 1992: Pavelló Olímpic de Badalona, Badalona
• Atlanta 1996: Forbes Arena and the Georgia Dome, Atlanta
• Sydney 2000: The Dome and Sydney SuperDome, Parramatta
  • Athens 2004: Hellinikon Indoor Arena and the Olympic Indoor Hall, Elliniko and Marousi Beijing 2008: Wukesong Indoor Stadium, Beijing
• London 2012: Olympic Basketball Arena and The O2 Arena, London
• Rio de Janeiro 2016: Carioca Arena 1 and the Youth Arena, Rio de Janeiro
• Tokyo 2020: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama
• Paris 2024: Accor Arena, Paris and Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq
• Los Angeles 2028: Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Convention Center, both in Los Angeles, and the Intuit Dome, Inglewood
• Brisbane 2032: Brisbane Indoor Sports Centre, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre, Kawana Waters

Qualifying

As of 2012, the qualifying process consists of three stages:

1. 1 team (for each gender) qualifies as the reigning world champion.
2. 7 teams for men and 5 for women qualify through their respective regional championships.
3. 3 teams for men and 5 for women qualify through a world qualifying tournament, in which the best teams which did not qualify directly from each zone compete for the remaining berths.

Additionally, the teams of the host nation qualify automatically.

Zone	Men	Women
World Cup	1	1
African championship	1	1
Americas championship	2	1
Asian championship	1	1
European championship	2	1
Oceania championship	1	1
World qualifying tournament	3	5
Host Nation	1	1
Total	12	12

In 2020, the men's tournament will have a new qualification system. After the 2019 FIBA World Cup, seven teams will qualify directly: the top two European and American teams, and the top team from Africa, Asia and Oceania. The next 16 best teams from the FIBA World Cup will join the two teams from each continent at the Olympic qualifiers. It will feature four groups of six teams, where the best team of each group will get the remaining spots at the Olympics. The continental championships will no longer be used for Olympic qualifying.

Men

Summaries

Year	Hosts	Gold medal game	Bronze medal game
Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	Fourth place
1936	Berlin		19–8			26–12
1948	London		65–21			52–47
1952	Helsinki		36–25			68–59
1956	Melbourne		89–55			71–62
1960	Rome		81–57			78–75
1964	Tokyo		73–59			76–60
1968	Mexico City		65–50			70–53
1972	Munich		51–50			66–65
1976	Montreal		95–74			100–72
1980	Moscow		86–77	Italy		117–94	Spain
1984	Los Angeles		96–65			88–82
1988	Seoul		76–63			78–49
1992	Barcelona		117–85			82–78	Unified Team
1996	Atlanta		95–69			80–74
2000	Sydney		85–75			89–71
2004	Athens		84–69			104–96
2008	Beijing		118–107			87–75
2012	London		107–100			81–77
2016	Rio de Janeiro		96–66			89–88
2020	Tokyo		87–82			107–93
2024	Paris		98–87			93–83

Medal table

Updated after the gold medal match of the 2024 Olympic tournament.

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia has been the designation from two distinct national entities: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1948 to 1988 formed as a joint state of 6 republics; Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1996 to 2006 formed as a joint state by only Montenegro and Serbia. In 2003, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed to Serbia and Montenegro, however both Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro represented the same national entity: a joint state of Montenegro and Serbia.

Performance by confederation

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.

Confederation<	--1--> !scope="col"	1936	1948 <	--3--> !scope="col"	1952	1956 <	--5--> !scope="col"	1960	1964 <	--7--> !scope="col"	1968	1972 <	--9--> !scope="col"	1976	1980 <	--11--> !scope="col"	1984	1988 <	--13--> !scope="col"	1992	1996 <	--15--> !scope="col"	2000	2004 <	--17--> !scope="col"	2008	2012 <	--19--> !scope="col"	2016	2020 <	--21--> !scope="col"	2024
FIBA Africa	15th–18th	19th	9th–16th	–	–	–	15th	15th	12th	11th	12th	10th	10th	11th	12th	12th	12th	10th	11th	10th	9th
FIBA Americas	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	5th	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st
FIBA Asia	5th	8th	9th–16th	7th	11th	10th	13th	13th	11th	12th	10th	9th	12th	8th	10th	8th	8th	12th	12th	11th	11th
FIBA Europe	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd
FIBA Oceania	–	–	–	12th	–	9th	–	9th	8th	8th	7th	4th	6th	4th	4th	9th	7th	7th	4th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	6th
Nations	21	23	23	15	16	16	16	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Participating nations

Nation	1936	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
	bgcolor=white colspan=9					10th	11th	12th	12th	12th					5
		15th	4th											9th		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	4th	8th	7th		8
				12th		9th		9th	8th	8th	7th	4th	6th	4th	4th	9th	7th	7th	4th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	6th	16
	19th	11th	17th																			3
	9th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	6th	6th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	4th	7th		5th	9th	5th	5th	6th				5th	9th		7th	16
			7th	5th	16th		10th															4
	bgcolor=silver	2nd	9th	9th	9th		14th			4th		4th	6th			7th						5th	10
	bgcolor=white colspan=6							10th										1
	9th	6th	5th	8th																		4
					bgcolor=white colspan=5			10th	11th	12th	8th	10th	8th	8th	12th	12th			9
	15th	18th		11th																		3
	bgcolor=white colspan=12		bgcolor=silver	2nd	7th			6th		5th			4
		13th	9th				11th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	7th	6th												6
	bgcolor=white colspan=13								9th		1
	9th	7th	9th		5th			8th	6th	9th				bgcolor=white colspan=8		7
	15th	19th	9th					16th	12th		12th	12th										7
	9th	bgcolor=white colspan=11											1
			9th			11th																2
	19th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	8th	4th	10th						11th				bgcolor=silver	2nd			6th	6th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	11
	15th							12th			8th		7th				10th			8th	4th	7
		20th																9th				2
			17th											5th		5th	5th				8th	5
		16th	9th		9th	13th																4
										12th												1
		14th															11th			12th		3
		22nd																				1
		23rd																				1
	bgcolor=white colspan=2		17th																			1
	7th	17th	17th		4th	5th	8th	4th	5th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	5th				5th	bgcolor=silver	2nd				5th		13
	9th			10th	15th	10th		14th	11th											11th	11th	8
	15th	bgcolor=white colspan=11											1
		bgcolor=white colspan=11		bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	4th	4th	8th	7th			7
	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	4th	9th		12th	12th	5th		10th													7
	bgcolor=white colspan=4				16th															1
															11th	10th						2
																			10th	11th	10th		3
							12th															1
	8th	10th				15th																3
	5th	12th	9th	7th	11th		13th	13th														7
	4th				7th	6th	6th	10th		7th												6
	bgcolor=white					13th	4th	9th	6th	9th			7th	8th	10th		6th					12th	10
			17th																			1
	bgcolor=white colspan=12		bgcolor=white			8th		9th	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd				3
	bgcolor=white colspan=5			15th	15th		11th												3
	bgcolor=white colspan=15		bgcolor=white				bgcolor=silver	2nd		bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	2
	bgcolor=white colspan=15		11th	bgcolor=white colspan=5		1
	bgcolor=white				13th		bgcolor=white																	1
	bgcolor=white colspan=12									4th		1
	bgcolor=white		8th		14th		16th	14th					9th		12th								6
	bgcolor=white colspan=18				9th	1
	bgcolor=white colspan=2		bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=white		bgcolor=white colspan=8		9
					14th		7th	11th		4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	8th	9th		9th	7th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	6th	10th	14
										10th												1
	9th	21st	17th																			3
	bgcolor=white colspan=2			15th																		1
																		11th				1
	19th		17th																			2
	bgcolor=white colspan=12		4th	bgcolor=white colspan=8		1
	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	20
	6th	5th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	8th	8th					6th											7
													11th						10th			2
					6th	7th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	5th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd		bgcolor=silver	2nd	6th	bgcolor=white colspan=6		10
Nations	21	23	23	15	16	16	16	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Notes

The NOC was not member of the IOC.

As China from 1936 to 1956.

Part of Yugoslavia from 1936 to 1988.

Part of .

As West Germany from 1968 to 1988.

Part of in 1992.

Now Serbia, part of in 1936–1988, as in 1992 and part of in 1996–2000.

Part of in 2004.

Part of Malaysia in 1964.

The Soviet Union chose not to compete in 1936 and 1948.

Part of Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1992.

Women

Summaries

Year	Hosts	Gold medal game	Bronze medal game
Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	Fourth place
1976	Montreal		112–77			67–66
1980	Moscow		104–73			68–65
1984	Los Angeles		85–55			63–57
1988	Seoul		77–70			68–53
1992	Barcelona	Unified Team	76–66			88–74
1996	Atlanta		111–87			66–56
2000	Sydney		76–54			84–73 (OT)
2004	Athens		74–63			71–62
2008	Beijing		92–65			94–81
2012	London		86–50			83–74
2016	Rio de Janeiro		101–72			70–63
2020	Tokyo		90–75			91–76
2024	Paris		67–66			85–81

Medal table

Source: FIBA^[12]

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia has been the designation from two distinct national entities: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1948 to 1988 formed as a joint state of 6 republics; Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1996 to 2006 formed as a joint state by only Montenegro and Serbia.

Performance by confederation

This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.

Confederation<	--1--> !scope="col"	1976	1980 <	--3--> !scope="col"	1984	1988 <	--5--> !scope="col"	1992	1996 <	--7--> !scope="col"	2000	2004 <	--9--> !scope="col"	2008	2012 <	--11--> !scope="col"	2016	2020 <	--13--> !scope="col"	2024
FIBA Africa	–	–	–	–	–	12th	12th	11th	12th	12th	12th	11th	8th
FIBA Americas	bgcolor=silver	2nd	5th	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st
FIBA Asia	5th	–	bgcolor=silver	2nd	6th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	7th	4th	9th	4th	5th	8th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	9th
FIBA Europe	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	6th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	4th	5th	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd
FIBA Oceania	–	–	5th	4th	–	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	5th	8th	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
Nations	6	6	6	8	8	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Participating nations

Nation	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024	Years
										12th				1
			5th	4th		bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	5th	8th	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	10
	bgcolor=white colspan=4		bgcolor=white					6th		9th			2
												7th	4th	2
					7th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	4th	11th	9th	11th			7
	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd		5th										3
	6th		4th			11th	10th			8th	7th	9th	11th	8
	bgcolor=white			bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	6th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	9th		9th	4th	6th	10th	5th	9th	10
	bgcolor=white colspan=4							10th				1
		5th			4th	6th	9th							4
	bgcolor=white colspan=5				5th	7th	7th				3
	4th			8th	6th	bgcolor=white colspan=8		3
						12th								1
							5th			bgcolor=silver	2nd	4th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	5
													7th	1
										11th				1
								7th						1
		4th												1
		6th			8th	8th								3
	5th					7th		10th			8th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	12th	6
	bgcolor=white colspan=4						9th					1
									12th					1
							11th	8th	10th					3
								11th				11th	8th	3
							8th							1
												12th	10th	2
	bgcolor=white colspan=4		bgcolor=white		5th	6th	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	4th				5
							12th				12th			2
	bgcolor=white colspan=8				bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	4th	6th	3
	bgcolor=white colspan=5			7th							1
			bgcolor=silver	2nd	7th		10th	4th	12th	8th			10th		7
	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st		bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=white		bgcolor=white colspan=8		3
					5th			6th	5th		bgcolor=silver	2nd	6th	5th	6
										5th	6th			2
	bgcolor=white colspan=4		bgcolor=white		4th								1
	bgcolor=white colspan=4		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=white colspan=8		1
	bgcolor=silver	2nd		bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	12
		bgcolor=#cc9966	3rd	6th	bgcolor=silver	2nd				bgcolor=white colspan=6		3
Nations	6	6	6	8	8	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Notes

NOC was not member of IOC

competed as part of Soviet Union from 1952–88

part of in 1992

part of Czechoslovakia from 1920–92

as Zaire from 1984–96

part of "Yugoslavia" from 1976–2000 and "Serbia and Montenegro" in 2004

Total medal table

Sources:^[13]

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia has been the designation from two distinct national entities: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1948 to 1988 formed as a joint state of 6 republics; Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1996 to 2006 formed as a joint state by only Montenegro and Serbia. In 2003, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed to Serbia and Montenegro, however both Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro represented the same national entity: a joint state of Montenegro and Serbia.

Win–loss records

Men's tournament

Team	Games played	Wins	Losses	Winning percentage
	31	3	28
	57	33	24
	115	58	57
	13	6	7
	115	66	49
	33	16	17
	70	39	31
	7	2	5
	26	12	14
	50	7	43
	28	16	12
	28	16	12
	45	22	23
	46	23	23
	3	1	2
	44	6	38
	3	1	2
	12	4	8
	72	40	32
	44	15	29
	13	2	11
	28	14	14
	33	14	19
	7	0	7
	15	2	13
	7	0	7
	6	0	6
	2	0	2
	95	56	39
	47	11	36
	3	1	2
	52	32	20
	49	26	23
	9	0	9
	12	2	10
	13	2	11
	9	2	7
	22	9	13
	52	25	27
	49	23	26
	75	34	41
	2	0	2
	20	10	10
	24	2	22
	41	23	18
	7	2	5
	6	4	2
	47	8	39
	3	1	2
	74	61	13
	102	55	47
	7	3	4
	13	4	9
	7	0	7
	5	0	5
	4	0	4
	8	5	3
	155	149	6
	56	29	27
	12	3	9
	60	48	12

As of 10 August 2024

Women's tournament

Team	Games played	Wins	Losses	Winning percentage
	5	0	5
	60	41	19
	4	2	2
	44	19	25
	11	3	8
	16	10	6
	39	11	28
	52	25	27
	5	1	4
	24	9	15
	15	3	12
	19	8	11
	7	0	7
	29	19	10
	5	0	5
	7	3	4
	6	2	4
	18	3	15
	31	13	18
	5	1	4
	5	0	5
	18	4	14
	9	1	8
	7	3	4
	3	0	3
	39	25	14
	14	7	7
	11	0	11
	7	3	4
	41	15	26
	16	14	2
	30	19	11
	12	7	5
	8	4	4
	5	4	1
	75	72	3
	16	8	8

As of 8 August 2021

Records

Category	Men	Women
Highest game score	229 points: USA 156–73 Nigeria (2012)	190 points: Japan 62–128 Brazil (2004)
Lowest game score	27 points: USA 19–8 Canada (1936)	100 points: Senegal 32–68 Slovakia (2000)
Biggest margin	100 points: Korea 120–20 Iraq (1948) China 125–25 Iraq (1948)	66 points: Japan 62–128 Brazil (2004) Italy 53–119 Soviet Union (1980)
Games with most overtimes	2 overtimes: Argentina 111–107 Brazil (2016) Canada 86–83 Russia (2000) Lithuania 83–81 Croatia (1996) Australia 109–101 Brazil (1996)	2 overtimes: Turkey 79–76 Brazil (2016) Spain 92–80 Italy (1992)
Longest winning streak	63 games: USA (1936–72)	58 games: USA (1992–2024)
All-time top cumulative scorer	1,093 points: Oscar Schmidt (Brazil)	581 points: Lauren Jackson (Australia)
All-time top average scorer	28.8 points per game: Oscar Schmidt (Brazil)	22 points per game: Lara Sanders (Turkey)
Single game scorer	55 points: Oscar Schmidt (Spain vs. Brazil, 1988)	39 points: Evladiya Slavcheva-Stefanova (Bulgaria vs. South Korea, 1988)

As of 4 August 2024

Top career scorers

The International Olympic Committee does not recognize records for basketball, although FIBA does.

Men

Player !! scope="col"

Oscar Schmidt	1,093
Andrew Gaze	789
Pau Gasol	649
Luis Scola	591
Patty Mills	567
Manu Ginóbili	523
Kevin Durant	518
Wlamir Marques	500
Sergei Belov	475
Dražen Dalipagić	461 <	--21 games played and 461 points scored (22.0 ppg)-->
Dražen Petrović <		--23 games played and 461 points scored (20.0 ppg)-->

Player !! scope="col"

!
Oscar Schmidt	1,093	38	28.8
Mieczysław Młynarski	182	7	26.0
Mohamed Sayed Soliman	179	7	25.6
Ed Palubinskas	409	16
Bojan Bogdanović	152	6	25.3
Horacio López	199	8	24.9
Davis Peralta	214	9	23.8
Ricardo Duarte	212	9	23.6
Antonello Riva	187	8	23.4
Lee Chung-hee	160	7	22.9

Women

Player !! scope="col"

Lauren Jackson	581
Janeth Arcain	535
Lisa Leslie	488
Diana Taurasi	384
Chen Nan	317
Alessandra Santos de Oliveira	290
Miao Lijie	284
Zheng Haixia	280
Jung Sun-min	276

Points per game

Player
LaToya Sanders	132	6	22.0
Uljana Semjonova	131	6	21.8
Mfon Udoka	130	6	21.7
Evanthia Maltsi	146	7	20.9
Margo Dydek	143	7	20.4
Keiko Namai	102	5
Sofija Pekić	121	6	20.2
Lenke Jacsó-Kiss	120	6	20.0
Choi Kyung-hee	98	5	19.6
Uljana Semjonova	97	5	19.4

Top scorer per tournament

Year	Men		Women
1948		21.0	colspan=2
1952		22.0	colspan=2
1956		26.0	colspan=2
1960		23.6	colspan=2
1964		23.6	colspan=2
1968		23.8	colspan=2
1972		23.9	colspan=2
1976		31.3		20.4
1980		29.3		21.8
1984		25.6		16.8
1988		42.3		19.6
1992		24.8		18.8
1996		27.4		20.5
2000		19.9		20.5
2004		22.4		22.9
2008		19.6		17.3
2012		21.2		16.2
2016		25.3		23.5
2020		26.8		27.3
2024		25.8		23.2

Awards

See main article: FIBA Awards.

See also

• 3x3 basketball at the Summer Olympics
• Basketball at the Asian Games
• Basketball at the African Games
• Basketball at the Commonwealth Games
• Basketball at the Youth Olympic Games
• Basketball at the Pacific Games
• Basketball at the Pan American Games
• Wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics

External links

• 2012 London Olympic Basketball Tournament Coverage by fiba.com
• Olympic Basketball Medal count by fiba.com
• All-time men's results
• All-time women's results

Notes and References

1. Web site: Presentation . FIBA.basketball.
2. Web site: 29 April 2021. Tokyo 2020 event programme to see major boost for female participation, youth and urban appeal . 21 June 2021 . International Olympic Committee. en.
3. News: IOC adds 3-on-3 basketball to 2020 Olympics . 10 November 2017 . National Basketball Association . 9 June 2017.
4. News: History of basketball at Olympics: A tale of American domination. Olympics. Naveen Peter. 11 February 2023. 6 March 2023.
5. Web site: Before They Were Giants . SLAM . 20 August 2008.
6. Web site: Basketball Hall of Fame – Phog Allen. https://web.archive.org/web/20071230130907/http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/bhof-phog-allen.html. dead. 30 December 2007.
7. News: Biggest Olympic scandals: The most controversial basketball game of all-time.
8. News: 10 Things You May Not Know About U.S. Basketball's Shocking 1972 Olympics Loss.
9. How the Russians break the Olympic rules. The Christian Science Monitor. 15 April 1980.
10. News: Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro. The New York Times. 21 July 1974. Washburn. J. N..
11. Web site: Why Can Pros Complete in International Events. https://web.archive.org/web/20150120113156/http://www.usab.com/history/why-can-pros-complete-in-international-events.aspx. dead. 20 January 2015. usab.com.
12. Web site: Paris 2024 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Media Guide . FIBA.
13. Web site: Olympic Analytics – Medals by Countries . olympanalyt.com . 31 January 2022.