Men's Basketball Preview
Extending the USA’s dominance in Olympic men’s basketball will not be an easy task at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, now scheduled for 2021, as basketball has truly grown into a global sport and standout professional players from around the world are abundant in the NBA and FIBA competitions.
The U.S. men have won six of the past seven Olympic gold medals, including three consecutively. Men’s Olympic basketball has been played since 1936, when the U.S. claimed the first of seven straight gold medals. In all, the U.S. men have earned a record 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals in Olympic play. The U.S. men’s all-time win-loss record at the Olympic Games is a gaudy 138-5 and they take a 25-0 winning streak into the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The U.S. list of Olympic finalists for the men’s team was announced in February 2020 and features 44 NBA standouts. The official Olympic roster will be comprised of 12 players and is expected to be announced in late spring 2021.
Headlining the list of candidates for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team is three-time Olympic medalist LeBron James and two-time Olympic gold medalists Kevin Durant and Chris Paul. A fourth Olympic appearances would tie James with Carmelo Anthony for the most by any U.S. male basketball player. Durant (2012 and 2016) and Paul (2008 and 2012) are seeking to become three-time Olympians and join Anthony, James and David Robinson (1988, 1992 and 1996) as the USA’s only three-time U.S. Olympic male basketball players.
The finalists include nine members of the gold medalist 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, seven gold medalists from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team and all 12 members of the USA’s 2019 FIBA World Cup Team. All told, the list of finalists includes 29 players who have played for Team USA in Olympic and/or FIBA World Cup competitions and who together have collected 31 Olympic or FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medals and four bronze medals.
After seeing Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski lead the U.S. Olympic squads to gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016, it will be five-time NBA champion and longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich directing the U.S. men’s team next year. Assisting Popovich on the USA bench will be Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright.
The Olympic men’s basketball tournament will consist of 12 nations. In addition to host Japan, nations qualified for the men's basketball competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain, and the USA. Four additional teams will qualify through FIBA's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. The four men's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, taking place from June 22-July 4, 2021, will be played in Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia. The winners of each of the four tournaments will qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Updated on July 20, 2020. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.