Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

16th Olympic Basketball Tournament
Athens 2004
Tournament details
Olympics2004 Summer Olympics
Host nationGreece
CityAthens
Duration15–28 August 2004
Men's tournament
Teams12
Medals
1 Gold medalists  Argentina
2 Silver medalists Italy
3 Bronze medalists  United States
Women's tournament
Teams12
Medals
1 Gold medalists  United States
2 Silver medalists Australia
3 Bronze medalists  Russia
Tournaments
← Sydney 2000  Beijing 2008 →

Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was the sixteenth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena, a part of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, in Athens, for the preliminary rounds, with the later stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex.[1]

Italy and Argentina warming up before the game.

Argentina, led by NBA standouts like Manu Ginóbili and Luis Scola, won the country's first and only gold medal in the event.

In Olympic basketball tournaments, 12 teams take part. The host nation (Greece in 2004) automatically receives a berth in the tournament. By winning the two World Championship tournaments in 2002, FR Yugoslavia, now named Serbia and Montenegro, also put a team into the men's tournament and the United States a team in the women's tournament.

The remaining 10 spots in each tournament were allocated by the five Olympic zones. Each of these zones held its own tournaments to select its entries in the Olympic tournament. Africa was allocated one spot in each of these, Oceania was allocated two apiece, and Europe was allocated three. Furthermore, the Americas were allocated three teams for the men's tournament and just one in the women's tournament, whereas Asia was allocated just one in the men's tournament and three in the women's tournament.

The United States team's third-place finish in the men's tournament was an embarrassment for the country that birthed the sport. The following Summer Olympics, the U.S. was represented by the Redeem Team, sporting an improved roster led by international superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, under the coaching of Mike Krzyzewski, and returned the gold medal to America.