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 has been played in the Summer Olympics since its first appearance 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 thru 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.
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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--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
In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stankovi?, 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.
Gold Medal Basketball Video
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
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.
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
Performance by confederation
This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.
Participating nations
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Notes
Women's tournaments
Performance by confederation
This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.
Participating nations
Notes
Medal table
Total
Countries ranked by total medals won (men's and women's).
- Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
Medal table, men
- Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
Medal table, women
- Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.
Win-loss records
Men's tournament
Women's tournament
Records
Note: The International Olympic Committee doesn't recognize records for basketball, although FIBA does.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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