Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

for men consistently since

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

was held as an unofficial demonstration event in 1904 and 1924. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

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. 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

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 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Besides the United States,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

is the only nation still in existence which has won both the men's and the women's tournament. The

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 3x3 basketball (stylized as ''ƐX3'', pronounced ''three-ex-three'') is a Variations of basketball, variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one Backboard (basketball), backboard and in a basketball court, half-court setup. This basketba ...

would become an official Olympic sport as of the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, for both men and women.

History

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

was invented by

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Scottish-Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United State ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, 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 The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, ...

(FIBA) was organized in 1932 in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, 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.

American dominance

Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen—a

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

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 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

. 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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, 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 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when the

controversially won the gold medal game against the United States by one point. The U.S. team reclaimed the gold medal in

, with

, which had beaten the Soviet Union in the semifinal, finishing runner-up for the second time. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, with the Americans' absence due to the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

, Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the final. The Americans regained the title in 1984, by beating

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

countries eroded the ideology of the pure

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The

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. In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General

Borislav Stanković ),Boris (Борис) , image = Borislav Bora Stanković.jpg , imagesize = , caption = , order = 2nd , office = Secretary General of FIBA , term_start = 1 January 1976 , ter ...

approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, including the Olympics. In the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, 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

and

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 Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, won the silver and bronze medals respectively. The American team repeated its victory in 1996 and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 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 Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

is the only instance where the Olympic host city also had a home NBA team — the Hawks.

was the runner-up in Atlanta, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions. The renewed dominance of the U.S. was interrupted in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, when the Americans barely made it to the semifinal, after losing to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and

in the preliminaries;

defeated them in the semifinals, on their way to a gold medal finish, where they beat

in the final, and became the fourth team to win the Olympic title. The Americans regrouped in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, beating the reigning FIBA world champions,

, 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, 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 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

. The

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

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

in the gold medal game. In

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, the Unified Team, consisting of the former Soviet republics, defeated

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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

All venues were indoor stadiums except for the 1936 tournament, which was held outdoors on lawn tennis courts. * Berlin 1936: Reichssportfeld,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

* London 1948: Harringay Arena,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* Helsinki 1952: Tennis Palace and Messuhalli II, both in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

* Melbourne 1956:

Royal Exhibition Building The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage-listed building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1879–1880 as part of the international exhibition movement, which presented over 50 exhibitions between ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

* Rome 1960: Sports Arena and Sports Palace,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* Tokyo 1964:

Yoyogi National Gymnasium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its Suspended structure, suspension roof design. The arena holds 13,291 people (9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena sea ...

* Mexico City 1968: Palacio de los Deportes,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

* Munich 1972: Basketballhalle,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

* Montreal 1976: Étienne Desmarteau Centre and the Montreal Forum, Montreal * Moscow 1980: CSKA Universal Sports Hall, CSCA Sports Palace and Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiysky Stadium, Moscow * Los Angeles 1984: Kia Forum, The Forum, Inglewood, California, Inglewood * Seoul 1988: Jamsil Arena, Seoul * Barcelona 1992: Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona, Pavelló Olímpic de Badalona, Badalona * Atlanta 1996: Forbes Arena and the Georgia Dome,

* Sydney 2000: The Dome (Sydney), The Dome and Sydney SuperDome, Parramatta * Athens 2004: Hellinikon Olympic Arena, Hellinikon Indoor Arena and the Olympic Indoor Hall, Elliniko and Marousi * Beijing 2008: Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center, Wukesong Indoor Stadium, Beijing * London 2012: Basketball Arena (London), Olympic Basketball Arena and The O2 Arena,

* Rio de Janeiro 2016: Carioca Arena 1 and the Youth Arena, Rio de Janeiro * Tokyo 2020: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama (city), 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 Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California, Inglewood * Brisbane 2032: Brisbane Indoor Sports Centre, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre, Kawana Waters

Qualifying

As of Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012, the qualifying process consists of three stages: #1 team (for each gender) qualifies as the reigning world champion. #7 teams for men and 5 for women qualify through their respective regional championships. #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. In 2020, the men's tournament will have a new qualification system. After the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, 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

Medal table

Updated after the gold medal match of the Basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament, 2024 Olympic tournament. * The

(as of 1992) and

(as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations. *

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.

Participating nations

Notes

: The National Olympic Committee, 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

Medal table

Source: FIBA *

(as of 1992) and

(as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations. *

Performance by confederation

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

Participating nations

Notes

: National Olympic Committee, 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

Medal table

(as of 1992) and

(as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations. *

Win–loss records

Men's tournament

''As of 10 August 2024''

Women's tournament

''updated at the end of the 2024 Olympics (11 August 2024)''

Records

''As of 4 August 2024''

Top career scorers

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

does.

Men

Women

Top scorer per tournament

Awards

References

External links

2012 London Olympic Basketball Tournament Coverage
by fiba.com

by fiba.com

{{Sports at the Olympics Basketball at the Summer Olympics, Basketball at multi-sport events, Olympics Sports at the Summer Olympics

History

American dominance

Munich and after

Professional era: renewed American dominance

Women

Venues

Qualifying

Men

Summaries

Medal table

Performance by confederation

Participating nations

Notes

Women

Summaries

Medal table

Performance by confederation

Participating nations

Notes

Medal table

Win–loss records

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Records

Top career scorers

Men

Women

Top scorer per tournament

Awards

See also

References

External links