An initial 12-man roster was named with a combined 37 NBA All-Star selections, led by Kevin Durant with 11. He entered the 2020 Games ranked second in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history with 311 career points, needing just 25 more to match Carmelo Anthony's record of 336. A two-time Olympic gold medalist from the 2012 and 2016 teams, Durant was joined on the squad by one other gold medal winner, his 2016 teammate Draymond Green, who he also played with on the Golden State Warriors.
Also committing to the team were four of the NBA's top 10 scorers from the 2020–21 season with Bradley Beal (31.1 points per game), Damian Lillard (28.8), Zach LaVine (27.4) and Jayson Tatum (26.4). Six players on the roster were named All-Stars in 2021, but only two were among the past season's 15 selections to the All-NBA Team—Lillard and Beal . While stocked with scorers, the original roster was limited in size; Bam Adebayo and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Love were the lone traditional interior players. The team also lacked a primary facilitating guard; when not leading a pick and roll, Lillard is primarily an isolation scorer.
Alternatively, the United States could use Durant as a point forward and utilize big men Green and Adebayo's playmaking skills. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns were named to the roster, but missed all of training camp and the exhibition games while playing in the 2021 NBA Finals. Middleton and Tatum were the only returnees from the 2019 World Cup team. The United States' men's basketball team is headed to the Tokyo Olympics looking to win its fourth consecutive gold medal at the Summer Games. The U.S. women's basketball team is battling in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as it tries to win its seventh straight gold medal.
After going undefeated in the group stage, Team USA took care of Australia in the quarterfinal round and blew out Serbia by 20 points in the semifinals. Led by 29 points by Durant, Team USA won their fourth consecutive gold medal with an 87–82 win over France. The Americans led by 10 to begin the fourth quarter, but the French pulled to within three points twice, including with 10 seconds left in the game. Durant made two free throws to seal the game with eight seconds remaining.
France got 16 points each from Fournier and Gobert, who also had eight rebounds. Durant joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time gold medalists in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history. A semifinal win would keep the U.S. women's basketball team's 53-game win streak alive and give them a chance at a seventh straight gold medal. Some of the best basketball players in the world have descended upon Las Vegas, then they'll shortly embark for Japan. The U.S. men's national basketball team eyes a fourth straight gold medal, armed with star talent. The U.S. team defeated the Czech Republic 119–84 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Tatum scored a game-high 27 points, and Durant had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Czechs made eight of their first 11 shots to establish a 10-point lead, and they led the entire first quarter, outshooting the Americans 65% to 35%. Durant made a 3-pointer in the second quarter to put Team USA up for good.
The basket also moved him past Carmelo Anthony to become the U.S. men's basketball team's all-time Olympic scoring leader. Durant scored 14 points in the first half, and the Americans led by as many as seven before going into halftime ahead 47–43. They outscored the Czech Republic 29–13 in the third quarter, which they ended with a 22–6 run to lead by 22 to begin the fourth.
Team USA's men's basketball team has won 15 gold medals in Olympic history. The USA women's basketball team got off to a positive start at the Tokyo Olympics with an win over Nigeria in their first game of the tournament. It certainly wasn't always pretty, but they got the job done and ran their Olympics winning streak to an incredible 50 games in the process. Team USA avenged its early Olympic loss to France by beating the French men's basketball team for the gold medal on Saturday in the Japanese city of Saitama. Now we know what the United States men's basketball preliminary round group schedule looks like for the upcoming Olympic Games.
The United States men's basketball team will begin play in Tokyo on July 25 in a group with the Czech Republic, France and Iran. The top two teams in each of the three groups will advance to the quarterfinals. SAITAMA, Japan -- Team USA's invincibility in men's basketball is long gone, and the journey to a fourth consecutive gold medal is already fraught with adversity. With their win over Nigeria on Tuesday, they extended their Olympics winning streak to an incredible 50 games.
The USA women's basketball team is in Tokyo to play in the Summer Olympics. Here's how to watch the team take on Nigeria, Japan and France in the group stage of the women's basketball tournament in Tokyo and everything you need to know about the team. The US women's basketball team is a hot favorite at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, having won the gold medal in each of the last six Summer Games. Shocking start for the americans, who are looking for their 50th straight olympic win. Team usa is shooting 5-15 and has turned the ball over eight times already.
The U.S. 5-on-5 team captured its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal as veteran guards Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi became the first basketball players to win five golds in the Summer Games. Find below an in-depth look at the history, form, roster, groups and schedule of every one of the 12 participating teams in the men's category. The U.S. team returned two Olympic gold medal winners in Kevin Durant and Draymond Green . Unlike the 2019 World Cup team that finished in seventh place with a team of traditional centers and limited shooting, the Olympic team featured multi-positional players and adept shooters.
After the disappointing World Cup, in which only four of the initial 35 candidates were on the final roster, star players began openly expressing an interest in joining the Olympic team. While other countries had a core roster that has played together for years in multiple international tournaments, the U.S. team changed every year. Kevin Durant of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets led the way for the US, scoring 29 points. It is his third Olympic gold medal, tying him with American Carmelo Anthony for the record in the men's tournament.
The Americans have now won men's basketball gold in every Olympics since Beijing 2008. The U.S. squad that will challenge for a fourth consecutive gold medal features just three players with past Olympic experience, but plenty of elite NBA talent. Quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals and the winners will play for gold and silver in the finals.
A bronze medal game will take place between the losers of the semifinals. The USA men's basketball team start their quest for the gold medal two days after the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo on July 25. They will compete with 12 teams in the initial Group Phase which includes Slovenia, who is making history thanks to Dallas Mavericks superstar, Luka Doncic. The US women's basketball team will start their Tokyo Olympics 2020 tournament against Nigeria on 27 July.
Their 2004 gold medal in Athens is arguably their national basketball team's greatest achievement. The only other medal they have won at the Olympics is the bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the men's, Team USA has won 15 of a possible 19 gold medals and will be gunning to bag their fourth consecutive gold in Tokyo.
On the other hand, Team USA has won eight of a possible 11 since 1976 in the women's category and will be looking to win their seventh consecutive. The statistic that will likely most please Dawn Staley, the three-time Olympic gold medal winning coach of Team USA, is the 24 team assists. Her players competed selflessly to clinch their classy win, and she will be looking for a repeat of that same calibre as the U.S. head to the semi-finals. The United States Men's National Basketball team is set to begin its pursuit of a fourth consecutive gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which began with Opening Ceremonies on Friday, July 23 . In their first game, the United States was upset 90–87 by Nigeria, the first win by an African team over the American men's team. The Nigerians played as a more cohesive unit after about three weeks of training.
In their last two meetings, Team USA had beaten them by 83 points at the 2012 London Olympics and 44 points in an exhibition game prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The United States was coached by Gregg Popovich, who had won five NBA championships as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He made his head coaching debut for Team USA on the 2019 World Cup team in China. In February 2020, USA Basketball announced an initial list of 44 finalists for the 2020 Summer Olympics, originally scheduled for July–Aug 2020. After the Games were postponed until 2021, the list of finalists was expanded to 57 to remain flexible.
By the end of the 2020–21 NBA season, a number of All-Star level players were either injured or requiring extended recovery time for the upcoming season. Olympic training camp took place while the 2021 NBA playoffs were ongoing. No tryouts were held, with decisions on the final 12-man roster based in part on player health and availability.
Complicating the decision for National Basketball Association players to commit to the Olympics was the pandemic's impact on the league's schedule. Although the start of the 2020–21 NBA season was delayed, it still began 71 days after the prior Finals, as opposed to the usual 100 days or more. While the 2021 Finals were scheduled to allow players time to travel to Tokyo, the playoffs were ongoing while other countries were practicing.
The delayed season cut into Team USA's time to gel and learn to play as a team. Moreover, three team members played in the Finals, which did not conclude until July 20, and they missed all of training camp and the pre-Olympic exhibitions in Las Vegas. One of the more heavily favored teams to take home a gold medal in their respective sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is Team USA Basketball. Team USA looks to begin their march through the 2020 Olympics basketball bracket early Tuesday morning. On 29 June, USA Basketball officially announced the 12-man squad that will compete for a fourth consecutive gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021. The last time Team USA didn't win gold was in 2004 in Athens, when the men's team lost to Argentina in the semifinals and ended up taking bronze.
The team got off to a rough start in Tokyo with an opening loss to Francebut have bounced back with two straight wins to secure second place in the group and advance to the quarterfinals. The U.S. men's basketball team will take on an Australian team it lost to one month ago in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Still one of the best point guards around, Bird -- who reached 100 Olympic assists in this game -- has won four straight gold medals, and is going for a fifth here in Tokyo along with Diana Taurasi. If Team USA wins it all, those two will become the first basketball players ever to win five gold medals. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)One would hope this latest loss — just the United States' sixth in Olympic history — will be a wake-up call. That Team USA will channel the embarrassment into better play and more respect for their opponents on their way to a gold medal.
The United States men's basketball team is grouped with Iran, France and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. As the top second-place team in group play, the United States qualified for the seeded pot of the draw and avoided facing any of the group winners in the quarterfinals. They were drawn to face Spain, who the Americans beat for the gold medal in 2008 and 2012, and who they also defeated in the 2016 semifinals. Durant averaged 27 points per game and shot 53.7% from the field in the three knockout games to lead the team to gold.
After playing in three exhibition games, Beal was ruled out for the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. A starter in all three games, he was expected to be one of the team's primary scorers. Love also withdrew from the team, stating that he was not fully recovered from a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of the prior NBA season. A journeyman, 7-foot (2.1 m), shot-blocking center, McGee was a finalist for the Olympic team and has won three NBA championships, including two with Durant and Green on the Warriors. He helped to fill Team USA's need for size after being outrebounded during exhibition games.
The second-year forward Johnson had been playing with the Olympic team as a member of the U.S. Select Team and had been with San Antonio for two seasons under Popovich. USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo stated that injuries and players' contract status, among other factors, impacted the roster decisions. "Some people say, 'Well what about that guy?' Well, there is a reason. You think we're stupid? We know who can play and who can't play", he said.
The USA women's basketball team is in Tokyo to play in the Summer Olympics. Here's how to watch the team take on Nigeria, Japan and France in the group stage of the women's basketball tournament in Tokyo and everything you need to know about the team. The USA women's basketball Team has eight Olympic gold medals to its name and has won gold at six consecutive Olympics, last failing to win gold 1992. The men's basketball tournament tips off on July 24 and ends with the medal games on Aug. 6-7.
Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, is leading this year's team of NBA talent in Tokyo. He takes the helm from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had led Team USA to three consecutive gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016. The University of Wisconsin has posted schedules for early-season matchups in both men's hockey and men's basketball on its official website. The men's basketball season will begin October 29th with an exhibition game against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at the Kohl Center. It's the gold medal game of the Tokyo Olympics with Team USA basketball facing France with a lot at stake for both countries before a deserved offseason break.
Spain has also medaled in each of the last three Olympics, falling to the U.S. in the 2008 and 2012 gold medal games and earning bronze in 2016. Other contenders also feature NBA talent, with Luka Doncic leading Slovenia to its first Olympic berth, Rudy Gobert headlining a veteran French squad and Patty Mills starring for Australia. Durant is an Olympian for the third time, joining Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and David Robinson as the only players to be on three Olympic men's basketball teams. Durant was Team USA's leading scorer in the 2012 London games and again in 2016 in Rio. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will coach a team featuring nine first-time Olympians.
This Argentina squad, which is ranked fourth in the FIBA Men's ranking, is coming off a silver-medal finish at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. They are the only nation, that still exists, to have won a basketball gold medal in the men's category apart from the USA. Qualifying for the tournament as the host, Japan is the lowest-ranked squad from the FIBA men's rankings among the final 12. This is their first participation in Olympic men's basketball since 1976, when they went winless and finished 11th of 12. But through that perhaps-contrived embarrassment, Daly received buy-in from the superstar players.
A level of fear kicked in and they started playing like a team, winning the gold medal with ease. Serbia's bronze in Rio 2016 was their first-ever team medal in women's basketball, while the Chinese haven't been on the podium since Barcelona 1992, when they won silver. Americans riding a 52-game winning streak at the Games as they aim for a seventh consecutive gold medal. Read on to find out the rest of the last-eight meetings - find out where and how to watch. The 12 teams that are competing in the Olympics are split into three groups and every team within a group faces the other three teams from the group for a total of three games in the group stage.
The teams that finish in first and second place from each group will advance into the quarterfinals, along with the two best third-place teams overall. The game between the U.S. and the Czech Republic is the final game of group play for this foursome. With a victory, Team USA will secure its spot in the knockout stage, which will run from Aug. 3-7, and the same could be said for the Czech Republic.
