Basketball at the Summer Olympics

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Basketball at the Summer Olympics
IOC CodeBKB
Governing bodyFIBA
Events4 (men: 2; women: 2)
Summer Olympics
Note: demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated in italics

Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as an unofficial demonstration event in 1904 and 1924. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976. FIBA organizes both the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the Summer Olympics basketball tournaments, which are sanctioned by the IOC.[1]

The United States is by far the most successful country in Olympic basketball, with United States men's teams having won 17 of 20 tournaments in which they participated, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968. United States women's teams have won 10 titles out of the 12 tournaments in which they competed, including eight in a row from 1996 to 2024. Besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence which has won both the men's and the women's tournament. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament. The United States are the defending champions in both men's and women's tournaments.

On 9 June 2017, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee announced that 3x3 basketball would become an official Olympic sport as of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, for both men and women.[2][3]

History

Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport. The popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) had a big part in the spread of this sport to many countries, and as many as 21 teams competed in the first Olympic basketball tournament.[4]

American dominance

Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen[5][6]—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.

Munich and after

The U.S. winning streak ended in 1972, when the Soviet Union controversially won the gold medal game against the United States by one point.[7][8]

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.

Professional era: renewed American dominance

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.[4][9][10][11] 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.[4] 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 American team defended their title by winning again at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, extending their run to four consecutive gold medal finishes, and seven out of the last eight.

Women

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 61 consecutive games.

Venues

All venues were indoor stadiums except for the 1936 tournament, which was held outdoors on lawn tennis courts.

  1. ^ The O2 Arena was known as the North Greenwich Arena during the games due to Olympics regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites.
  2. ^ The Accor Arena is known as the Bercy Arena during the games due to Olympics regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites.
  3. ^ a b Due to Olympic regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites, this venue will be known by a yet-to-be-determined name during the Games.

Qualifying

As of 2012, the qualifying process consists of three stages:

  1. 1 team (for each gender) qualifies as the reigning world champion.
  2. 7 teams for men and 5 for women qualify through their respective regional championships.
  3. 3 teams for men and 5 for women qualify through a world qualifying tournament, in which the best teams which did not qualify directly from each zone compete for the remaining berths.

Additionally, the teams of the host nation qualify automatically.

Zone Men Women
World Cup 1 1
African championship 1 1
Americas championship 2 1
Asian championship 1 1
European championship 2 1
Oceania championship 1 1
World qualifying tournament 3 5
Host Nation 1 1
Total 12 12

In 2020, the men's tournament will have a new qualification system. After the 2019 FIBA World Cup, seven teams will qualify directly: the top two European and American teams, and the top team from Africa, Asia and Oceania. The next 16 best teams from the FIBA World Cup will join the two teams from each continent at the Olympic qualifiers. It will feature four groups of six teams, where the best team of each group will get the remaining spots at the Olympics. The continental championships will no longer be used for Olympic qualifying.

Men

Summaries

Year Hosts Gold medal game Bronze medal game
Gold Score Silver Bronze Score Fourth place
1936 Germany
Berlin

United States
19–8
Canada

Mexico
26–12
Poland
1948 United Kingdom
London

United States
65–21
France

Brazil
52–47
Mexico
1952 Finland
Helsinki

United States
36–25
Soviet Union

Uruguay
68–59
Argentina
1956 Australia
Melbourne

United States
89–55
Soviet Union

Uruguay
71–62
France
1960 Italy
Rome

United States
81–57
Soviet Union

Brazil
78–75
Italy
1964 Japan
Tokyo

United States
73–59
Soviet Union

Brazil
76–60
Puerto Rico
1968 Mexico
Mexico City

United States
65–50
Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
70–53
Brazil
1972 West Germany
Munich

Soviet Union
51–50
United States

Cuba
66–65
Italy
1976 Canada
Montreal

United States
95–74
Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
100–72
Canada
1980 Soviet Union
Moscow

Yugoslavia
86–77
Italy[a]

Soviet Union
117–94
Spain[a]
1984 United States
Los Angeles

United States
96–65
Spain

Yugoslavia
88–82
Canada
1988 South Korea
Seoul

Soviet Union
76–63
Yugoslavia

United States
78–49
Australia
1992 Spain
Barcelona

United States
117–85
Croatia

Lithuania
82–78
Unified Team
1996 United States
Atlanta

United States
95–69
Yugoslavia

Lithuania
80–74
Australia
2000 Australia
Sydney

United States
85–75
France

Lithuania
89–71
Australia
2004 Greece
Athens

Argentina
84–69
Italy

United States
104–96
Lithuania
2008 China
Beijing

United States
118–107
Spain

Argentina
87–75
Lithuania
2012 United Kingdom
London

United States
107–100
Spain

Russia
81–77
Argentina
2016 Brazil
Rio de Janeiro

United States
96–66
Serbia

Spain
89–88
Australia
2020[b] Japan
Tokyo

United States
87–82
France

Australia
107–93
Slovenia
2024 France
Paris

United States
98–87
France

Serbia
93–83
Germany
  1. ^ a b Several teams competed under the Olympic Flag in support for the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott.
  2. ^ The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medal table

Updated after the gold medal match of the 2024 Olympic tournament.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States171220
2 Soviet Union2439
3 Yugoslavia1315
4 Argentina1012
5 France0404
6 Spain0314
7 Italy0202
8 Serbia0112
9 Canada0101
 Croatia0101
 Serbia and Montenegro0101
12 Brazil0033
 Lithuania0033
14 Uruguay0022
15 Australia0011
 Cuba0011
 Mexico0011
 Russia0011
Totals (18 entries)21212163
Source: [12]
  • The 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.

Performance by confederation

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

Confederation 1936
Nazi Germany
1948
United Kingdom
1952
Finland
1956
Australia
1960
Italy
1964
Japan
1968
Mexico
1972
West Germany
1976
Canada
1980
Soviet Union
1984
United States
1988
South Korea
1992
Spain
1996
United States
2000
Australia
2004
Greece
2008
China
2012
United Kingdom
2016
Brazil
2020
Japan
2024
France
FIBA Africa 15th–18th 19th 9th–16th 15th 15th 12th 11th 12th 10th 10th 11th 12th 12th 12th 10th 11th 10th 9th
FIBA Americas 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 5th 1st 3rd 1st 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 11th
FIBA Europe 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 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 6th
Nations 21 23 23 15 16 16 16 16 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Participating nations

Nation 1936
Nazi Germany
1948
United Kingdom
1952
Finland
1956
Australia
1960
Italy
1964
Japan
1968
Mexico
1972
West Germany
1976
Canada
1980
Soviet Union
1984
United States
1988
South Korea
1992
Spain
1996
United States
2000
Australia
2004
Greece
2008
China
2012
United Kingdom
2016
Brazil
2020
Japan
2024
France
Appearances
 Angola A 10th 11th 12th 12th 12th 5
 Argentina 15th 4th 9th 1st 3rd 4th 8th 7th 8
 Australia 12th 9th 9th 8th 8th 7th 4th 6th 4th 4th 9th 7th 7th 4th 3rd 6th 16
 Belgium 19th 11th 17th 3
 Brazil 9th 3rd 6th 6th 3rd 3rd 4th 7th 5th 9th 5th 5th 6th 5th 9th 7th 16
 Bulgaria 7th 5th 16th 10th 4
 Canada 2nd 9th 9th 9th 14th 4th 4th 6th 7th 5th 10
 Central African Republic A 10th 1
 Chile 9th 6th 5th 8th 4
 China A 10th 11th 12th 8th 10th 8th 8th 12th 12th 9
 Chinese TaipeiB 15th 18th 11th 3
 Croatia C 2nd 7th 6th 5th 4
 Cuba 13th 9th 11th 3rd 7th 6th 6
 Czech Republic K 9th 1
 Czechoslovakia 9th 7th 9th 5th 8th 6th 9th A 7
 Egypt 15th 19th 9th 16th 12th 12th 12th 7
 Estonia 9th D 1
 Finland 9th 11th 2
 France 19th 2nd 8th 4th 10th 11th 2nd 6th 6th 2nd 2nd 11
 GermanyE 15th 12th 8th 7th 10th 8th 4th 7
 Great Britain 20th 9th 2
 Greece 17th 5th 5th 5th 8th 5
 Hungary 16th 9th 9th 13th 4
 India 12th 1
 Iran 14th 11th 12th 3
 Iraq 22nd 1
 Ireland 23rd 1
 Israel A 17th 1
 Italy 7th 17th 17th 4th 5th 8th 4th 5th 2nd 5th 5th 2nd 5th 13
 Japan 9th 10th 15th 10th 14th 11th 11th 11th 8
 Latvia 15th D 1
 Lithuania D 3rd 3rd 3rd 4th 4th 8th 7th 7
 Mexico 3rd 4th 9th 12th 12th 5th 10th 7
 Morocco A 16th 1
 New Zealand 11th 10th 2
 Nigeria 10th 11th 10th 3
 Panama 12th 1
 Peru 8th 10th 15th 3
 Philippines 5th 12th 9th 7th 11th 13th 13th 7
 Poland 4th 7th 6th 6th 10th 7th 6
 Puerto Rico A 13th 4th 9th 6th 9th 7th 8th 10th 6th 12th 10
 Romania 17th 1
 Russia D F 8th 9th 3rd 3
 Senegal A 15th 15th 11th 3
 Serbia G H 2nd 3rd 2
 Serbia and Montenegro G 11th A 1
 Singapore A 13th I 1
 Slovenia C 4th 1
 South Korea A 8th 14th 16th 14th 9th 12th 6
 South Sudan A 9th 1
 Soviet Union J 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 3rd 3rd 1st F A 9
 Spain 14th 7th 11th 4th 2nd 8th 9th 9th 7th 2nd 2nd 3rd 6th 10th 14
 Sweden 10th 1
  Switzerland 9th 21st 17th 3
 Thailand A 15th 1
 Tunisia 11th 1
 Turkey 19th 17th 2
 Unified Team D 4th A 1
 United States 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 20
 Uruguay 6th 5th 3rd 3rd 8th 8th 6th 7
 Venezuela 11th 10th 2
 Yugoslavia 6th 7th 2nd 5th 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd 2nd 6th A 10
Nations 21 23 23 15 16 16 16 16 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Notes

^A The NOC was not member of the IOC.
^B As Taiwan China from 1936 to 1956.
^C Part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia from 1936 to 1988.
^D Part of  Soviet Union.
^E As West Germany West Germany from 1968 to 1988.
^F Part of  Unified Team in 1992.
^G Now Serbia Serbia, part of  Yugoslavia in 1936–1988, as  Independent Olympic Participants in 1992 and part of  Yugoslavia in 1996–2000.
^H Part of  Serbia and Montenegro in 2004.
^I Part of Malaysia Malaysia in 1964.
^J The Soviet Union chose not to compete in 1936 and 1948.
^K Part of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1992.

Women

Summaries

Year Hosts Gold medal game Bronze medal game
Gold Score Silver Bronze Score Fourth place
1976 Canada
Montreal

Soviet Union
112–77
United States

Bulgaria
67–66
Czechoslovakia
1980 Soviet Union
Moscow

Soviet Union
104–73
Bulgaria

Yugoslavia
68–65
Hungary
1984 United States
Los Angeles

United States
85–55
South Korea

China
63–57
Canada
1988 South Korea
Seoul

United States
77–70
Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
68–53
Australia
1992 Spain
Barcelona

Unified Team
76–66
China

United States
88–74
Cuba
1996 United States
Atlanta

United States
111–87
Brazil

Australia
66–56
Ukraine
2000 Australia
Sydney

United States
76–54
Australia

Brazil
84–73 (OT)
South Korea
2004 Greece
Athens

United States
74–63
Australia

Russia
71–62
Brazil
2008 China
Beijing

United States
92–65
Australia

Russia
94–81
China
2012 United Kingdom
London

United States
86–50
France

Australia
83–74
Russia
2016 Brazil
Rio de Janeiro

United States
101–72
Spain

Serbia
70–63
France
2020[a] Japan
Tokyo

United States
90–75
Japan

France
91–76
Serbia
2024 France
Paris

United States
67–66
France

Australia
85–81
Belgium
  1. ^ The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medal table

Source: FIBA[13]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States101112
2 Soviet Union2013
3 Unified Team1001
4 Australia0336
5 France0213
6 Brazil0112
 Bulgaria0112
 China0112
 Yugoslavia0112
10 Japan0101
 South Korea0101
 Spain0101
13 Russia0022
14 Serbia0011
Totals (14 entries)13131339
  • 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.

Performance by confederation

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

Participating nations

Notes

^A NOC was not member of IOC
^B competed as part of Soviet Union Soviet Union from 1952–88
^C part of  Unified Team in 1992
^D part of Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia from 1920–92
^E as Zaire Zaire from 1984–96
^F part of "Yugoslavia" from 1976–2000 and "Serbia and Montenegro" in 2004

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States272332
2 Soviet Union44412
3 Yugoslavia1427
4 Argentina1012
5 Unified Team1001
6 France0617
7 Spain0415
8 Australia0347
9 Italy0202
10 Brazil0145
11 Serbia0123
12 Bulgaria0112
 China0112
14 Canada0101
 Croatia0101
 Japan0101
 Serbia and Montenegro0101
 South Korea0101
19 Lithuania0033
 Russia0033
21 Uruguay0022
22 Cuba0011
 Mexico0011
Totals (23 entries)343434102
  • 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.

Win–loss records

Men's tournament

As of 10 August 2024

Women's tournament

As of 8 August 2021

Records

Category Men Women
Highest game score 229 points: USA 156–73 Nigeria (2012) 190 points: Japan 62–128 Brazil (2004)
Lowest game score 27 points: USA 19–8 Canada (1936) 100 points: Senegal 32–68 Slovakia (2000)
Biggest margin 100 points:
Korea 120–20 Iraq (1948)
China 125–25 Iraq (1948)
66 points:
Japan 62–128 Brazil (2004)
Italy 53–119 Soviet Union (1980)
Games with most overtimes 2 overtimes:
Argentina 111–107 Brazil (2016)
Canada 86–83 Russia (2000)
Lithuania 83–81 Croatia (1996)
Australia 109–101 Brazil (1996)
2 overtimes:
Turkey 79–76 Brazil (2016)
Spain 92–80 Italy (1992)
Longest winning streak 63 games: USA (1936–72) 58 games: USA (1992–2024)
All-time top cumulative scorer 1,093 points: Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) 581 points: Lauren Jackson (Australia)
All-time top average scorer 28.8 points per game: Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) 22 points per game: Lara Sanders (Turkey)
Single game scorer 55 points: Oscar Schmidt (Spain vs. Brazil, 1988) 39 points: Evladiya Slavcheva-Stefanova (Bulgaria vs. South Korea, 1988)

As of 4 August 2024

Top career scorers

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

Men

Points per game
Player PTS GP PPG
Brazil Oscar Schmidt 1,093 38 28.8
Poland Mieczysław Młynarski 182 7 26.0
Egypt Mohamed Sayed Soliman 179 7 25.6
Australia Ed Palubinskas 409 16
Croatia Bojan Bogdanović 152 6 25.3
Uruguay Horacio López 199 8 24.9
Panama Davis Peralta 214 9 23.8
Peru Ricardo Duarte 212 9 23.6
Italy Antonello Riva 187 8 23.4
South Korea Lee Chung-hee 160 7 22.9

Women

Total points scored
Player PTS
Australia Lauren Jackson 581
Brazil Janeth Arcain 535
United States Lisa Leslie 488
United States Diana Taurasi 384
China Chen Nan 317
Brazil Alessandra Santos de Oliveira 290
China Miao Lijie 284
United States Sheryl Swoopes
China Zheng Haixia 280
South Korea Jung Sun-min 276
Points per game
Player PTS GP PPG
Turkey LaToya Sanders 132 6 22.0
Soviet Union Uljana Semjonova 131 6 21.8
Nigeria Mfon Udoka 130 6 21.7
Greece Evanthia Maltsi 146 7 20.9
Poland Margo Dydek 143 7 20.4
Japan Keiko Namai 102 5
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sofija Pekić 121 6 20.2
Hungary Lenke Jacsó-Kiss 120 6 20.0
South Korea Choi Kyung-hee 98 5 19.6
Soviet Union Uljana Semjonova 97 5 19.4

Top scorer per tournament

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ "Presentation". FIBA.basketball.
  2. ^ "Tokyo 2020 event programme to see major boost for female participation, youth and urban appeal". International Olympic Committee. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ "IOC adds 3-on-3 basketball to 2020 Olympics". National Basketball Association. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Naveen Peter (11 February 2023). "History of basketball at Olympics: A tale of American domination". Olympics. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Before They Were Giants". SLAM. 20 August 2008.
  6. ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame – Phog Allen". Archived from the original on 30 December 2007.
  7. ^ "Biggest Olympic scandals: The most controversial basketball game of all-time".
  8. ^ "10 Things You May Not Know About U.S. Basketball's Shocking 1972 Olympics Loss".
  9. ^ "How the Russians break the Olympic rules". The Christian Science Monitor. 15 April 1980.
  10. ^ Washburn, J. N. (21 July 1974). "Soviet Amateur Athlete: A Real Pro". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Why Can Pros Complete in International Events". usab.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Paris 2024 Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament Media Guide" (PDF). FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Paris 2024 Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Media Guide" (PDF). FIBA.
  14. ^ "Men's Olympics Career Leaders and Records for Points". Basketball-Reference.com.