Basketball at the Summer Olympics

Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen[4][5]—a Kansas Jayhawks 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. 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, 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.

The U.S. winning streak ended in 1972 in one of the most controversial matches in history, when the Soviet Union beat them in the gold-medal game by one point.

The U.S. team 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 Americans 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 U.S. team for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game.

The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the Eastern Bloc countries 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 listed in the military, but all of whom were in fact paid by the state to train full-time.[6][7][8][9] 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.[10] In the 1992 Summer Olympics, 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 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 American team repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, 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 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 U.S. 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 reigning FIBA world champions, Spain, 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 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, 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 first women's tournament was staged in the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Soviet Union 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 1980 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 Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. In 1992, the Unified Team, consisting of the former Soviet republics, defeated China 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 48 consecutive games.

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	20
FIBA Africa	15th–18th	19th	9th–16th	--	--	--	15th	15th	12th	11th	12th	10th	10th	11th	12th	12th	12th	10th	11th	10th
FIBA Americas	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	5th	1st	3rd	1st	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	11th
FIBA Europe	4th	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd
FIBA Oceania	--	--	--	12th	--	9th	--	9th	8th	8th	7th	4th	6th	4th	4th	9th	7th	7th	4th	3rd
Nations	21	23	23	15	16	16	16	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

^{^A} NOC was not member of IOC

^{^B} as China from 1936–56

^{^C} part of Yugoslavia from 1936–1988

^{^D} part of  Soviet Union

^{^E} as West Germany from 1968–88

^{^F} part of  Unified Team in 1992

^{^G} now Serbia, part of  Yugoslavia in 1936–1988, as  Independent Olympic Participants (IOP) in 1992 and part of  FR Yugoslavia in 1996–2000

^{^H} part of  Serbia and Montenegro in 2004

^{^I} part of Malaysia in 1964

^{^J} Soviet Union chose not to compete in 1936 and 1948

^{^K} part of Czechoslovakia from 1920–92

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

Confederation	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20
FIBA Africa	–	–	–	–	–	12th	12th	11th	12th	12th	12th	11th
FIBA Americas	2nd	5th	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st
FIBA Asia	5th	–	2nd	6th	2nd	7th	4th	9th	4th	5th	8th	2nd
FIBA Europe	1st	1st	6th	2nd	1st	4th	5th	3rd	3rd	2nd	2nd	3rd
FIBA Oceania	–	–	5th	4th	–	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	3rd	5th	8th

^{^A} NOC was not member of IOC

^{^B} competed as part of Soviet Union from 1952–88

^{^C} part of  Unified Team in 1992

^{^D} part of Czechoslovakia from 1920–92

^{^E} as Zaire from 1984–96

^{^F} part of "Yugoslavia" from 1976–2000 and "Serbia and Montenegro" in 2004

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	25	2	3	30
2	Soviet Union (URS)	4	4	4	12
3	Yugoslavia (YUG)	1	4	2	7
4	Argentina (ARG)	1	0	1	2
5	Unified Team (EUN)	1	0	0	1
6	France (FRA)	0	4	1	5
	Spain (ESP)	0	4	1	5
8	Australia (AUS)	0	3	3	6
9	Italy (ITA)	0	2	0	2
10	Brazil (BRA)	0	1	4	5
11	Bulgaria (BUL)	0	1	1	2
	China (CHN)	0	1	1	2
	Serbia (SRB)	0	1	1	2
14	Canada (CAN)	0	1	0	1
	Croatia (CRO)	0	1	0	1
	Japan (JPN)	0	1	0	1
	Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)	0	1	0	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	1	0	1
19	Lithuania (LTU)	0	0	3	3
	Russia (RUS)	0	0	3	3
21	Uruguay (URU)	0	0	2	2
22	Cuba (CUB)	0	0	1	1
	Mexico (MEX)	0	0	1	1
Totals (23 entries)		32	32	32	96

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia 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.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	16	1	2	19
2	Soviet Union (URS)	2	4	3	9
3	Yugoslavia (YUG)	1	3	1	5
4	Argentina (ARG)	1	0	1	2
5	Spain (ESP)	0	3	1	4
6	France (FRA)	0	3	0	3
7	Italy (ITA)	0	2	0	2
8	Canada (CAN)	0	1	0	1
	Croatia (CRO)	0	1	0	1
	Serbia (SRB)	0	1	0	1
	Serbia and Montenegro (SCG)	0	1	0	1
12	Brazil (BRA)	0	0	3	3
	Lithuania (LTU)	0	0	3	3
14	Uruguay (URU)	0	0	2	2
15	Australia (AUS)	0	0	1	1
	Cuba (CUB)	0	0	1	1
	Mexico (MEX)	0	0	1	1
	Russia (RUS)	0	0	1	1
Totals (18 entries)		20	20	20	60

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia 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.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	9	1	1	11
2	Soviet Union (URS)	2	0	1	3
3	Unified Team (EUN)	1	0	0	1
4	Australia (AUS)	0	3	2	5
5	Brazil (BRA)	0	1	1	2
	Bulgaria (BUL)	0	1	1	2
	China (CHN)	0	1	1	2
	France (FRA)	0	1	1	2
	Yugoslavia (YUG)	0	1	1	2
10	Japan (JPN)	0	1	0	1
	South Korea (KOR)	0	1	0	1
	Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
13	Russia (RUS)	0	0	2	2
14	Serbia (SRB)	0	0	1	1
Totals (14 entries)		12	12	12	36

• Soviet Union (as of 1992) and Yugoslavia (as of 2006) are defunct. No team carried over the records of these nations.
• Yugoslavia 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.

Team	Games played	Wins	Losses	Winning percentage
Angola	31	3	28	.097
Argentina	57	33	24	.579
Australia	111	57	54	.514
Belgium	13	6	7	.462
Brazil	111	65	46	.586
Bulgaria	33	16	17	.485
Canada	66	36	30	.545
Central African Republic	7	2	5	.286
Chile	26	12	14	.462
China	50	7	43	.140
Chinese Taipei	28	16	12	.571
Croatia	28	16	12	.571
Cuba	45	22	23	.489
Czechoslovakia	46	23	23	.500
Czech Republic	3	1	2	.333
Egypt	44	6	38	.136
Estonia	3	1	2	.333
Finland	12	4	8	.333
France	66	36	30	.545
Germany	38	11	27	.289
Great Britain	13	2	11	.154
Greece	24	13	11	.542
Hungary	33	14	19	.424
India	7	0	7	.000
Iran	15	2	13	.133
Iraq	7	0	7	.000
Ireland	6	0	6	.000
Israel	2	0	2	.000
Italy	95	56	39	.589
Japan	44	11	33	.250
South Korea	47	8	39	.170
Latvia	3	1	2	.333
Lithuania	52	32	20	.615
Mexico	49	26	23	.531
Morocco	9	0	9	.000
New Zealand	12	2	10	.167
Nigeria	13	2	11	.154
Panama	9	2	7	.222
Peru	22	9	13	.409
Philippines	52	25	27	.481
Poland	49	23	26	.469
Puerto Rico	72	34	38	.472
Romania	2	0	2	.000
Russia	20	10	10	.500
Senegal	24	2	22	.083
Serbia	35	19	16	.543
Singapore	7	2	5	.286
Slovenia	6	4	2	.667
Soviet Union	74	61	13	.824
Spain	99	54	45	.545
Sweden	7	3	4	.429
Switzerland	13	4	9	.308
Thailand	7	0	7	.000
Tunisia	5	0	5	.000
Turkey	4	0	4	.000
Unified Team	8	5	3	.625
United States	149	143	6	.960
Uruguay	56	29	27	.518
Venezuela	12	3	9	.250
Yugoslavia	60	48	12	.800

As of 8 August 2021

Team	Games Played	Wins	Losses	Winning percentage
Angola	5	0	5	.000
Australia	60	41	19	.683
Belgium	4	2	2	.500
Brazil	44	19	25	.432
Belarus	11	3	8	.273
Bulgaria	16	10	6	.625
Canada	39	11	28	.282
China	52	25	27	.481
Croatia	5	1	4	.200
Cuba	24	9	15	.375
Czechoslovakia	15	3	12	.200
Czech Republic	19	8	11	.421
France	29	19	10	.655
Great Britain	5	0	5	.000
Greece	7	3	4	.429
Hungary	6	2	4	.333
Italy	18	3	15	.167
Japan	31	13	18	.419
South Korea	41	15	26	.366
Latvia	5	1	4	.200
Mali	5	0	5	.000
New Zealand	18	4	14	.222
Nigeria	9	1	8	.111
Poland	7	3	4	.429
Puerto Rico	3	0	3	.000
Russia	39	25	14	.641
Serbia	14	7	7	.500
Senegal	11	0	11	.000
Slovakia	7	3	4	.429
Soviet Union	16	14	2	.875
Spain	30	19	11	.633
Turkey	12	7	5	.583
Ukraine	8	4	4	.500
Unified Team	5	4	1	.800
United States	75	72	3	.960
Yugoslavia	16	8	8	.500
DR Congo	7	0	7	.000

As of 8 August 2021

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