Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympics marked the sixteenth time basketball was an official Olympic medal sport. Preliminary matches were played at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena within the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, while the later rounds moved to the Olympic Indoor Hall in the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. Argentina claimed its first and only Olympic gold in the event, led by NBA players such as Manu Ginóbili and Luis Scola.

Twelve teams compete in each Olympic basketball tournament. The host nation, Greece in 2004, automatically received a berth. The reigning world champions also qualified automatically: for the men’s tournament, that was FR Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro), and for the women’s, the United States. The remaining ten spots in each tournament were allocated by the five Olympic zones, each holding its own qualifying tournaments. Africa received one spot per tournament; Oceania received two spots per tournament; Europe received three spots per tournament. For the men’s tournament, the Americas received three spots, while Asia received one; for the women’s tournament, the Americas received one spot, while Asia received three.

Each National Olympic Committee could enter one men’s team of 12 players and one women’s team of 12 players in the regional tournaments. Automatic qualifiers included the reigning world champions, the host country, and the winners of the five continental championships. Additional teams came from the runner-up and third-place teams of the Americas and Europe competitions, plus the Oceania runner-up, for the men’s tournament. For the women’s tournament, the extra teams were the runner-up and third-place teams from Asia and Europe, plus the Oceania runner-up.

The format split the twelve teams into two preliminary groups of six. The top four from each group advanced to the knockout stage. The fifth-placed teams from each group played for 9th place, and the sixth-placed teams played for 11th place. Quarterfinal matchups were A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2, and A4 vs. B1. The losers of A1 vs. B4 and B1 vs. A4 competed for 7th place; the other two quarterfinal losers competed for 5th place. The quarterfinal winners met in the semifinals: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1. The semifinal winners contested the gold medal; the losers played for bronze. Tie-breaking criteria were head-to-head results, then goal average (not goal d