Basketball – Summer Games 2024

A true showstopper, bringing together the 12 best men’s and women’s national teams in the world. Men’s basketball was introduced to the official program in the 1936 Berlin Games, whilst the women had to wait until the 1976 Montreal Games.

Schedule

Records 

Most Points Scored in a Single Game: 

The record for the most points scored by an individual in a single Olympic basketball game is held by Oscar Schmidt of Brazil. He scored 55 points against Spain in the 1988 Seoul.

• Most Points in a Tournament (Men): 

  Michael Jordan holds the record for the most points scored in a single Olympic basketball tournament. He scored 123 points in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

  Most Points in a Tournament (Women): 

  The record for the most points scored in a single Olympic basketball tournament by a woman is held by American player Diana Taurasi. She scored 131 points in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

  Most Consecutive Gold Medals (Men): 

  American basketball player Carmelo Anthony holds the record for winning the most consecutive gold medals in basketball. He won gold in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Games.

  Most Consecutive Gold Medals (Women):

  The American women's basketball team holds the record for the most consecutive gold medals, winning every Olympic tournament from 1996 to 2016.

  Highest Scoring Game (Team): 

  The highest-scoring game in Olympic basketball history was in 1972 when the United States played against Italy, with the final score being 120-115 in favor of the U.S.

  Most Olympic Appearances (Men): 

  Manuel Ginóbili of Argentina and Andrew Gaze of Australia share the record for the most Olympic basketball appearances by a male player, both participating in four Olympic Games.

  Most Olympic Appearances (Women): 

  American basketball player Teresa Edwards holds the record for the most Olympic basketball appearances by a female player, participating in five Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000.

Did you know that..

1. Basketball made its official debut at the Summer Games in Berlin in 1936. The United States won the first gold medal in Olympic basketball, marking the beginning of a long and successful history for the sport in the Games.

2. The three-point line was first introduced in Olympic basketball during the 1984 Los Angeles Games. This addition to the game's rules aimed to encourage long-range shooting skills and has since become a fundamental aspect of basketball worldwide.

3. Romanian player Gheorghe Mureșan holds the record for being the tallest basketball player to win an Olympic gold medal. Standing at 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm), he won gold with the Romanian team in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.

4. At the 1960 Rome Games, K.C. Jones became the first African-American to serve as the captain of the United States men's basketball team. He later became a successful coach and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

5. Basketball was initially part of the Summer Games program in 1900 in Paris. However, the tournament was ultimately canceled because of a lack of teams. It wasn't until the 1936 Berlin Summer Games that basketball returned as an official Olympic sport.