Men's Basketball Preview
Extending Team USA’s dominance in Olympic men’s basketball will not be an easy task at the Tokyo Games, now taking place in 2021, as basketball has grown into a global sport with elite NBA players now hailing from countries around the world.
The U.S. men are the No. 1 team in the world in the FIBA rankings, but No. 2 Spain won the most recent FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019. And ahead of that tournament, No. 3 Australia ended Team USA’s 78-game unbeaten streak in an exhibition game in Melbourne. But in Olympic play, the U.S. men remain the gold standard.
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 138-5 and they take a 25-game Olympic winning streak into Tokyo. The U.S. qualified for Tokyo by finishing as one of the top two teams from the Americas region at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
The U.S. list of Olympic finalists for the men’s team was announced in March 2021 and featured 57 NBA standouts. The official Olympic roster comprised of 12 players was announced on June 28, 2021. It features three Olympians with Kevin Durant leading the way in making his third appearance at the Games.
The Olympic men’s basketball tournament will consist of 12 nations. The U.S. will join host Japan, Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and four additional teams from FIBA's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
Updated on July 12, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.