Olympics Overview

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Basketball was on the Olympic program in 1904, but the event was contested by only a few American club teams and actually served as the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Championship for that year. Thus the event is usually considered only a demonstration event. The winning team, incidentally, was the Buffalo Germans club, which established a reputation for dominance in those days that they got them inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a team.

In 1936, basketball made its first appearance as a medal sport at the Olympics, and the sport has been included in every Olympic Games since. In 1976, women's basketball was added to the program. The United States has dominated international basketball. The USA won all the Olympic titles until 1972 when they were defeated by the Soviet Union. The Soviet women were originally the top team on the female side, winning gold in 1976, 1980 and 1992, but the US women have now surpassed them, winning gold medals in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000.

Today, basketball has become one of the most popular sports in the world, rivaling football (soccer) for world-wide popularity and trailing only volleyball and track and field athletics in terms of number of member federations. US College basketball is wildly popular in the United States, culminating each March with the NCAA Championships. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the professional basketball league in the United States and universally considered to be the strongest in the world with the European leagues being close in terms of competition and public awareness.

In 1992, for the first time, NBA players were allowed to represent the USA and all other countries in national team competition. The 1992 US Team, dubbed the "Dream Team" by the world's media, was certainly the greatest basketball team ever assembled and it dominated the 1992 Olympic tournament. Full professional participation is now allowed for both men and women in basketball at the Olympics. With the United States allowed to use NBA professionals, they have reasserted their dominance at the international level, with victory in every tournament in which NBA players have participated. However, the gap between the USA and the rest of the world seems to be ever decreasing, as was witnessed during the Sydney Olympics, in which the USA was tested several times on the way to the gold medal. Further proof of that challenge has been given by the sensational upset of a star domed US team during the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, USA. Argentina, Yugoslavia and Spain defeated the USA who was left with a disappointing sixth place in their own country.

The Olympics are held every four years. The next Olympics will be held in Beijing in 2008.

Contents

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Men's Basketball

The USA's domination in men's basketball at the Olympics is no longer the foregone conclusion that it was in the early years. During the post-World War II era, the Cold War extended prominently onto the Olympic hardwood. The USA and the Soviet Union played for the gold medal in five of six Olympics in the period 1952-1972. Other than the USA and the Soviet Union, only Yugoslavia and Argentina have ever won the gold medal.

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Results

Year Host City/Nation Gold Medal Score Silver Medal
1936 Image:Germany Flag (1935-1945).png Berlin Image:U.S Flag (1912-1958).png United States 19-8 Image:Canada Flag (1922-1957).png Canada
1948 Image:U.K. Flag.png London Image:U.S Flag (1912-1958).png United States 65-21 Image:France Flag.png France
1952 Image:Finland Flag.png Helsinki Image:U.S Flag (1912-1958).png United States 36-25 Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union
1956 Image:Australia Flag.png Melbourne Image:U.S Flag (1912-1958).png United States 89-55 Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union
1960 Image:Italy Flag.png Rome Image:U.S. Flag.png United States No playoffs Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union
1964 border Tokyo Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 73-59 Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union
1968 Image:Mexico Flag.png Mexico City Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 65-50 Image:SFR Yugoslavia Flag.png Yugoslavia
1972 Image:Germany Flag.png Munich Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union 51-50 Image:U.S. Flag.png United States
1976 Image:Canada Flag.png Montreal Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 95-74 Image:SFR Yugoslavia Flag.png Yugoslavia
1980 Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Moscow Image:SFR Yugoslavia Flag.png Yugoslavia 86-77 Image:Italy Flag.png Italy
1984 Image:U.S. Flag.png Los Angeles Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 96-65 Image:Spain Flag.png
1988 Image:South Korea Flag.png Seoul Image:Soviet Union Flag.png Soviet Union 76-63 Image:SFR Yugoslavia Flag.png Yugoslavia
1992 Image:Spain Flag.png Barcelona Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 117-85 Image:Croatia Flag.png Croatia
1996 Image:U.S. Flag.png Atlanta Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 95-69 Image:Yugoslavia Flag.png Yugoslavia
2000 Image:Australia Flag.png Sydney Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 85-75 Image:France Flag.png France
2004 Image:Greece Flag.png Athens Image:Argentina Flag.png Argentina 84-69 Image:Italy Flag.png Italy
2008 Image:China Flag.png Beijing Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 118-107 Image:Spain Flag.png Spain
2012 Image:United Kingdom Flag.png London Image:U.S. Flag.png United States 107-100 Image:Spain Flag.png Spain
2016 Image:Brazil Flag.png Rio de Janeiro
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Women's Basketball

The Soviet Union was the dominant power in women's basketball at the Olympics early on. The USA has been strong, however, and has grown stronger. Beginning with the 1996 Games, the U.S. Women have won every gold medal.


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Results

Year GoldSilver Bronze
2008
2004 USA Australia Russia
2000 USA Australia Brazil
1996 USA Brazil Australia
1992 Unified Team China USA
1988 USA Yugoslavia Soviet Union
1984 USA South Korea Canada
1980 Soviet Union Bulgaria Yugoslavia
1976 Soviet Union USA Bulgaria
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Nations competing

Nation Gold Medals Silver Medals Bronze Medals
Image:Angola Flag.png Angola 0 0 0
Image:Argentina Flag.png Argentina 1 0 1
Image:Australia Flag.png Australia 0 0 0
Image:Belgium Flag.png Belgium 0 0 0
Image:Brazil Flag.png Brazil 0 0 3
Image:Bulgaria Flag.png Bulgaria 0 0 0
Image:Canada Flag.png Canada 0 1 0
Image:Central African Republic Flag.png Central African Republic 0 0 0
Image:Chile Flag.png Chile 0 0 0
Image:China Flag.png China 0 0 0
Image:Chinese Taipei Flag.png Chinese Taipei 0 0 0
Image:Croatia Flag.png Croatia 0 1 0
Image:Cuba Flag.png Cuba 0 0 1
Image:Czechoslovakia Flag.png Czechoslovakia 0 0 0
Image:Egypt Flag.png Egypt 0 0 0
Image:Estonia Flag.png Estonia 0 0 0
Image:Finland Flag.png Finland 0 0 0
Image:France Flag.png France 0 2 0
Image:Germany Flag.png Germany 0 0 0
Image:U.K Flag.png United Kingdom 0 0 0
Image:Greece Flag.png Greece 0 0 0
Image:Hungary Flag.png Hungary 0 0 0
Image:India Flag.png India 0 0 0
Image:Iran Flag.png Iran 0 0 0
Image:Iraq Flag.png Iraq 0 0 0
Image:Ireland Flag.png Ireland 0 0 0
Image:Israel Flag.png Israel 0 0 0
Image:Italy Flag.png Italy 0 2 0
Image:Japan Flag.png Japan 0 0 0
Image:South Korea Flag.png Korea 0 0 0
Image:Latvia Flag.png Lavia 0 0 0
Image:Lithuania Flag.png Lithuania 0 0 3
Image:Mexico Flag.png Mexico 0 0 1
Image:Morocco Flag.png Morocco 0 0 0
Image:New Zealand Flag.png New Zealand 0 0 0
Image:Panama Flag.png Panama 0 0 0
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External Links

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