Zac Electrifly

Basketball at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad has started. I was going to do a preview of the event. However I have been busy and was unable to get that done before basketball at Paris 2024 started. There are four tournaments for basketball. I will not be extensively covering the 3×3 tournament. I just do not have the time or resources. I will be covering the Paris 2024 men’s basketball tournament and the Paris 2024 women’s basketball tournament. I will also be covering the United States basketball teams like I am with United States soccer teams. There are twelve teams in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. The United States and France are the only nations fielding teams in all four Olympic basketball events. Basketball at Paris 2024 will go from Saturday, July 20th to Sunday, August 11th. Teams qualified for this event through the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the 2024 FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, or the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. There are three venues for basketball at Paris 2024. All of the basketball tournaments at Paris 2024 consist of a group stage and a knockout stage. Basketball has been in the Olympics since 1936. It was also in the 1904 and 1924 Olympics. The most notable tournament was in 1992 which featured the Dream Team. The women’s basketball tournament was introduced in 1976. 3×3 basketball was introduced at Tokyo 2020. This is only the second time 3×3 basketball has been in the Olympics.

There are three venues for basketball at Paris 2024. The 50,210 capacity Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The Stade Pierre-Mauroy will host men’s and women’s group stage matches. The 20,300 capacity Bercy Arena (Accor Arena) will host men’s and women’s basketball elimination matches. The Place de la Concorde will hold a temporary stadium for 3×3 basketball.

The United States won the gold medal in men’s basketball at Tokyo 2020. In Group A are Australia, Canada, Greece, and Spain. In Group B are Germany, France, Brazil, and Japan. In Group C are Serbia, South Sudan, Puerto Rico, and the United States.

The group stage is a round robin. Each team plays the other teams in their group once. The top two teams from each group advance to the knock out stage. The two two third place teams also advance. They will do a draw to determine quarterfinal matchups. The knock out stage is quarterfinals, then semifinals, then the gold medal and bronze medal matches. The gold medal match for the men is on August 10th.

The United States won the gold medal in women’s basketball at Tokyo 2020. In Group A are Serbia, Spain, China, and Puerto Rico, In Group B are China Nigeria Australia, and France. In Group C are Germany, the United states, Japan, and Belgium.

Like the men’s tournament there will be a round robin group stage followed by an elimination stage. The top two teams from each group and the top two third place teams will advance to the elimination stage. There will be a draw for matchups prior to the knockout stage. Like the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament elimination stage is the quarterfinals, then semifinals, then the gold medal and bronze medal matches. The gold medal match for the women will be on August 11th.

The United States have won the most medals in basketball at the Olympics. They have won Thirty one medals in thirty six previous tournaments. The United States won three out of four gold medals in basketball at Tokyo 2020. There are a total of thirty nations competing in basketball at Paris 2024. France are automatically in all four basketball events as the host nation. Two nations are from Africa. Four nations are from the Americas. Three nations are from Asia. Ten nations are from Europe. One nation is from Oceania. Three nations only have men’s teams. Two nations only have women’s teams. Five nations only have 3×3 teams. The United States and France are the only nations to field basketball teams in all four events.

Basketball has already started at Paris 2024. There were four men’s games played on the first day of the tournament. Australia played Spain. Germany played Japan. France played Brazil. Greece played Canada.

Australia played Spain in a Group A game. Australia was leading 31-21 after the first quarter. Australia was leading 49-42 at halftime. Australia was leading 69-60 going into the fourth quarter. Australia won the game 92-80. Spain outscored Australia in the second half. Australia was able to hold onto their lead for the win. Australia will play Canada next. Spain will play Greece next.

Germany played Japan. It was a Group B match. Germany lead the game 28-21 after the first quarter. Germany was leading 52-44 at halftime. Germany was leading 74-61 heading into the fourth quarter. Germany won the game 97-77. This game was not close. Germany kept scoring over twenty points a quarter. Japan stayed with them in the first half but they slowed down in the second half. Germany will play Brazil next. Japan will play France next.

France played Brazil. This was a Group B match. Brazil had a 23-15 lead after the first quarter. France had a 39-36 lead at halftime. France had a 57-45 lead going into the final quarter. France won the game 78-66. France came back after being outscored in the first quarter. The standout here is that France kept Brazil to under ten points in the third quarter. France will play Japan next. Brazil will play Germany next.

Greece played Canada. This was a Group A game. Canada had a 26-22 after the first quarter. Canada had a 48-38 lead at halftime. Canada was leading 68-60 going into the fourth quarter. Canada won the game 86-79. This game was a lot closer than others. Both teams were close in each quarter. The real difference maker was the second quarter where Canada outscored Greece by six points. Canada will play Australia next. Greece will play Spain next.

Only the men have played so far. Australia lead Group A. They are currently tied with Canada. Germany lead Group B. They are currently tied with France. Group C has not played yet.