Basketball at the Summer Olympics

Basketball at the Summer Olympics

Governing body	FIBA
Events	2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 Note: demonstration sport years indicated in italics
Medalists

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 a demonstration event in 1904. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976.

The United States is by far the most successful country in Olympic basketball, with United States men's teams having won 15 of 18 tournaments in which they participated, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968. United States women's teams have won 8 titles out of the 10 tournaments in which they competed, including six in a row from 1996 to 2016. Besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence who 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.

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.

Early American dominance

Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen^[1]^[2]—a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin 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 until 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 United States winning streak ended in 1972 under highly controversial circumstances, when the Soviet Union beat them in the gold-medal game. After the game, the American team refused to accept the silver medal, and the medal has been kept in IOC possession ever since.

The Americans 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 United States 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 Americans for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game.

Professional era

The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries further 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 students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis.^[3]

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. In the next Olympics, the 1992 Summer Olympics, the "Dream Team" won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics Basketball, with an average winning margin of 44 points per game, and without calling a time out. 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 United States repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was not as successful 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 United States 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 current FIBA world champions, Spain, in an intense gold medal game, with the Argentinians beating the Lithuanians in the bronze medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the Americans again winning, although with the closest winning margin for the Americans. The Americans again won in 2016, defeating the Serbians in the gold medal game, a rematch of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final, after eliminating the Spaniards in the semifinal, who settled for bronze.

Women

The first women's tournament was in 1976. The Soviet Union won against five other teams. The next two tournaments followed the six-team round-robin format, with the Soviets defending their title in 1980, and the United States winning in 1984, against the South Koreans, amidst the Soviet-led boycott. In 1988, the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. In 1992, after the demise of the USSR, the Unified Team won against China in the gold medal game. In 1996, the tournament settled into its current 12-team format; the United States has won all of the tournaments since then, winning 48 consecutive games.

Venues

All venues were indoor stadiums except for the 1936 tournament which was held outdoors on tennis courts.

Berlin 1936: Reichssportfeld, Berlin
London 1948: Harringay Arena, Harringay
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, Sydney
Athens 2004: Helliniko Indoor Arena and the Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens
Beijing 2008: Wukesong Indoor Stadium, Beijing
London 2012: Olympic Basketball Arena and The O2 Arena, London
Rio de Janeiro 2016: Carioca Arena 1 and Youth Arena, Rio de Janeiro
Tokyo 2020: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama
Paris 2024: AccorHotels Arena, Paris
Los Angeles 2028: Staples Center, Los Angeles

NOTE: The O2 Arena was known as the North Greenwich Arena during the games due to Olympics regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites.

Qualifying

As of 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.

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 not be used for Olympic qualifying.

Men's tournaments

Year	Host	Gold medal game			Bronze medal game
Year	Host	Gold	Score	Silver	Bronze	Score	4th place
1936 Details	Berlin	United States	19–8	Canada	Mexico	26–12	Poland
1948 Details	London	United States	65–21	France	Brazil	52–47	Mexico
1952 Details	Helsinki	United States	36–25	Soviet Union	Uruguay	68–59	Argentina
1956 Details	Melbourne	United States	89–55	Soviet Union	Uruguay	71–62	France
1960 Details	Rome	United States	No playoffs	Soviet Union	Brazil	No playoffs	Italy
1964 Details	Tokyo	United States	73–59	Soviet Union	Brazil	76–60	Puerto Rico
1968 Details	Mexico City	United States	65–50	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	70–53	Brazil
1972 Details	Munich	Soviet Union	51–50	United States	Cuba	66–65	Italy
1976 Details	Montreal	United States	95–74	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	100–72	Canada
1980 Details	Moscow	Yugoslavia	86–77	Italy	Soviet Union	117–94	Spain
1984 Details	Los Angeles	United States	96–65	Spain	Yugoslavia	88–82	Canada
1988 Details	Seoul	Soviet Union	76–63	Yugoslavia	United States	78–49	Australia
1992 Details	Barcelona	United States	117–85	Croatia	Lithuania	82–78	Unified Team
1996 Details	Atlanta	United States	95–69	Yugoslavia	Lithuania	80–74	Australia
2000 Details	Sydney	United States	85–75	France	Lithuania	89–71	Australia
2004 Details	Athens	Argentina	84–69	Italy	United States	104–96	Lithuania
2008 Details	Beijing	United States	118–107	Spain	Argentina	87–75	Lithuania
2012 Details	London	United States	107–100	Spain	Russia	81–77	Argentina
2016 Details	Rio	United States	96–66	Serbia	Spain	89–88	Australia
2020 Details	Tokyo

Performance by confederation

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

Confederation	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16
FIBA Africa	15th–18th	19th	9th–16th	--	--	--	15th	15th	12th	11th	12th	10th	10th	11th	12th	12th	12th	10th	11th
FIBA Americas	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	5th	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
FIBA Asia	5th	8th	9th–16th	7th	11th	10th	13th	13th	11th	12th	10th	9th	12th	8th	10th	8th	8th	12th	12th
FIBA Europe	4th	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
FIBA Oceania	--	--	--	12th	--	9th	--	9th	8th	8th	7th	4th	6th	4th	4th	9th	7th	7th	4th
Nations	21	23	23	15	16	16	16	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Participating nations

Nation	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	Years
Angola	^A												10th	11th	12th	12th	12th			5
Argentina		15th	4th											9th		1st	3rd	4th	8th	7
Australia				12th		9th		9th	8th	8th	7th	4th	6th	4th	4th	9th	7th	7th	4th	14
Belgium	19th	11th	17th																	3
Brazil	9th	3rd	6th	6th	3rd	3rd	4th	7th		5th	9th	5th	5th	6th				5th	9th	15
Bulgaria			7th	5th	16th		10th													4
Canada	2nd	9th	9th	9th		14th			4th		4th	6th			7th					9
Central African Republic	^A											10th								1
Chile	9th	6th	5th	8th																4
China					^A						10th	11th	12th	8th	10th	8th	8th	12th	12th	9
Chinese Taipei^B	15th	18th		11th																3
Croatia	^C												2nd	7th			6th		5th	4
Cuba		13th	9th				11th	3rd	7th	6th										6
Czechoslovakia	9th	7th	9th		5th			8th	6th	9th				^A						7
Egypt	15th	19th	9th					16th	12th		12th	12th								7
Estonia	9th		^D																	1
Finland			9th			11th														2
France	19th	2nd	8th	4th	10th						11th				2nd			6th	6th	9
Germany^E	15th							12th			8th		7th				10th			5
Great Britain		20th																9th		2
Greece			17th											5th		5th	5th			4
Hungary		16th	9th		9th	13th														4
India										12th										1
Iran		14th															11th			2
Iraq		22nd																		1
Ireland		23rd																		1
Israel	^A		17th																	1
Italy	7th	17th	17th		4th	5th	8th	4th	5th	2nd	5th				5th	2nd				12
Japan	9th			10th	15th	10th		14th	11th											6
South Korea	^A	8th		14th		16th	14th					9th		12th						6
Latvia	15th		^D																	1
Lithuania			^D										3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	4th	8th	7th	7
Mexico	3rd	4th	9th		12th	12th	5th		10th											7
Morocco	^A						16th													1
New Zealand															11th	10th				2
Nigeria																		10th	11th	2
Panama							12th													1
Peru	8th	10th				15th														3
Philippines	5th	12th	9th	7th	11th		13th	13th												7
Poland	4th				7th	6th	6th	10th		7th										6
Puerto Rico	^A				13th	4th	9th	6th	9th			7th	8th	10th		6th				9
Romania			17th																	1
Russia	^A		^D										^F		8th		9th	3rd		3
Senegal	^A						15th	15th		11th										3
Serbia^H	^G													2nd	6th	11th			2nd	4
Singapore	^A			13th		^I														1
Soviet Union	^A		2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	1st	3rd	3rd		1st	^F	^A						9
Spain					14th		7th	11th		4th	2nd	8th	9th		9th	7th	2nd	2nd	3rd	12
Sweden										10th										1
Switzerland	9th	21st	17th																	3
Thailand	^A			15th																1
Tunisia																		11th		1
Turkey	19th		17th																	2
Unified Team	^A												4th	^A						1
United States	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st		1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	18
Uruguay	6th	5th	3rd	3rd	8th	8th					6th									7
Venezuela													11th						10th	2
Yugoslavia					6th	7th	2nd	5th	2nd	1st	3rd	2nd				^A				8
Nations	21	23	23	15	16	16	16	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Notes

^{^A} NOC was not member of IOC

^{^B} as

China from 1936–56

^{^C} part of

Yugoslavia from 1936–1988

^{^D} competed as part of

Soviet Union from 1952–88

^{^E} as

West Germany from 1968–88

^{^F} part of

Unified Team in 1992

^{^G} now

Serbia, as

Yugoslavia from 1936–1991,

Yugoslavia from 1992–2002 and

Serbia and Montenegro from 2003–2006

^{^H} part of

Yugoslavia from 1936–1988

^{^I} part of

Malaysia in 1964