Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

International basketball tournament
16th Olympic Basketball Tournament
Athens 2004
Tournament details
Olympics2004 Summer Olympics
Host nationGreece
CityAthens
Duration15–28 August 2004
Men's tournament
Teams12
Medals
1 Gold medalists  Argentina
2 Silver medalists Italy
3 Bronze medalists  United States
Women's tournament
Teams12
Medals
1 Gold medalists  United States
2 Silver medalists Australia
3 Bronze medalists  Russia
Tournaments
← Sydney 2000  Beijing 2008 →
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Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was the sixteenth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena, a part of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, in Athens, for the preliminary rounds, with the later stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex.[1]

Italy and Argentina warming up before the game.

Argentina, led by NBA standouts like Manu Ginóbili and Luis Scola, won the country's first (and, as of 2023, only) gold in the event.

In Olympic basketball tournaments, 12 teams take part. The host nation (Greece in 2004) automatically receives a berth in the tournament. By winning the two World Championship tournaments in 2002, FR Yugoslavia, now named Serbia and Montenegro, also put a team into the men's tournament and the United States a team in the women's tournament.

The remaining 10 spots in each tournament were allocated by the five Olympic zones. Each of these zones held its own tournaments to select its entries in the Olympic tournament. Africa was allocated one spot in each of these, Oceania was allocated two apiece, and Europe was allocated three. Furthermore, the Americas were allocated three teams for the men's tournament and just one in the women's tournament, whereas Asia was allocated just one in the men's tournament and three in the women's tournament.

The United States team's third-place finish in the men's tournament was a disappointment for the program & country. The following Summer Olympics, the U.S. was represented by the Redeem Team, sporting an improved roster led by international superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, under the coaching of Mike Krzyzewski, and returned the gold medal to America.

Medalists

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men
details
 Argentina (ARG)

Carlos Delfino
Gabriel Fernández
Manu Ginóbili
Leonardo Gutiérrez
Walter Herrmann
Alejandro Montecchia
Andrés Nocioni
Fabricio Oberto
Juan Ignacio Sánchez
Luis Scola
Hugo Sconochini
Rubén Wolkowyski

 Italy (ITA)

Roberto Chiacig
Luca Garri
Denis Marconato
Giacomo Galanda
Nikola Radulović
Alex Righetti
Matteo Soragna
Gianluca Basile
Massimo Bulleri
Gianmarco Pozzecco
Michele Mian
Rodolfo Rombaldoni

 United States (USA)

Allen Iverson
Stephon Marbury
Dwyane Wade
Carlos Boozer
Carmelo Anthony
LeBron James
Emeka Okafor
Shawn Marion
Amar'e Stoudemire
Tim Duncan
Lamar Odom
Richard Jefferson

Women
details
 United States (USA)

Shannon Johnson
Dawn Staley
Sue Bird
Sheryl Swoopes
Ruth Riley
Lisa Leslie
Tamika Catchings
Tina Thompson
Diana Taurasi
Yolanda Griffith
Katie Smith
Swin Cash

 Australia (AUS)

Alicia Poto
Allison Tranquilli
Sandy Brondello
Penny Taylor
Suzy Batkovic
Trisha Fallon
Kristi Harrower
Laura Summerton
Belinda Snell
Natalie Porter
Rachael Sporn
Lauren Jackson

 Russia (RUS)

Olga Arteshina
Oxana Rakhmatulina
Natalia Vodopyanova
Diana Goustilina
Yelena Baranova
Tatiana Shchegoleva
Ilona Korstin
Maria Stepanova
Maria Kalmykova
Elena Karpova
Irina Osipova
Anna Arkhipova

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter just one men's team with 12 players, and just one women's team with 12 players in the regional tournaments. The reigning world champions and the host country qualify automatically, as do the winners of the five continental championships, plus the runner-up and third place teams from the Americas and Europe competitions, and the runner-up Oceania in the men's tournament. For the women's tournament, the extra teams consisted of the runner-up and third place teams from Asia and Europe, and the runner-up from Oceania.

Basketball – Men

Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Automatic qualifiers
 Angola  United States
 Argentina
 Puerto Rico
 China  Lithuania
 Spain
 Italy
 Australia
 New Zealand
 Serbia and MontenegroWorld champions
 Greece – Olympic hosts

Basketball – Women

Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Automatic qualifiers
 Nigeria  Brazil  China
 Japan
 South Korea
 Russia
 Czech Republic
 Spain
 Australia
 New Zealand
 United StatesWorld champions
 Greece – Olympic hosts

Format

  • Twelve teams are split into two preliminary round groups of six teams each.
  • The top four teams from both groups qualify for the knockout stage.
  • Fifth-placed teams from both groups compete for 9th place in an additional match.
  • Sixth-placed teams from both groups compete for 11th place in an additional match.
  • In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1.
    • From the eliminated teams at the quarterfinals, the loser from A1 vs. B4 competes against the loser from B1 vs. A4 for 7th place in an additional match. The remaining two loser teams compete for 5th place in an additional match.
  • The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals as follows: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1.
  • The winning teams from the semifinals contest the gold medal. The losing teams contest the bronze.

Tie-breaking criteria:

  1. Head to head results
  2. Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
  3. Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group

Teams

Men

The men's event involved twelve teams split equally into two groups.

Women

The women's event involved 12 teams split in two groups.

Group A:

Group B:

Men's tournament

Preliminary round

The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Group A

Pos Team
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Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 5 5 0 405 349 +56 10 Quarterfinals
2  Italy 5 3 2 371 341 +30 8[a]
3  Argentina 5 3 2 414 396 +18 8[a]
4  China 5 2 3 303 382 −79 7
5  New Zealand 5 1 4 399 413 −14 6[b] 9th place playoff
6  Serbia and Montenegro 5 1 4 377 388 −11 6[b] 11th place playoff
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head record: Italy 1–0 Argentina
  2. ^ a b Head-to-head record: New Zealand 1–0 Serbia and Montenegro
August 15
11:15
Italy  71–69  New Zealand
August 15
14:30
China  58–83  Spain
August 17
9:00
New Zealand  62–69  China
August 17
20:00
Spain  87–76  Argentina
August 19
11:15
Italy  63–71  Spain
August 19
20:00
Argentina  82–57  China
August 21
14:30
New Zealand  94–98  Argentina
August 21
16:45
China  52–89  Italy
August 23
9:00
Spain  88–84  New Zealand
August 23
20:00
Italy  76–75  Argentina

Group B

Pos Team
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Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Lithuania 5 5 0 468 414 +54 10 Quarterfinals
2  Greece 5 3 2 389 343 +46 8[a]
3  Puerto Rico 5 3 2 410 411 −1 8[a]
4  United States 5 3 2 418 389 +29 8[a]
5  Australia 5 1 4 383 411 −28 6 9th place playoff
6  Angola 5 0 5 321 421 −100 5 11th place playoff
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Head-to-head record: Greece 1–1 (1.10 GAvg), Puerto Rico 1–1 (0.99), United States 1–1 (0.92)
August 15
9:00
Angola  73–78  Lithuania
August 15
22:15
Greece  76–54  Australia
August 17
11:15
Australia  83–59  Angola
August 17
14:30
Lithuania  98–90  Puerto Rico
August 17
22:15
United States  77–71  Greece
August 19
14:30
United States  89–79  Australia
August 19
16:45
Puerto Rico  83–80  Angola
August 19
22:15
Greece  76–98  Lithuania
August 21
9:00
Australia  82–87  Puerto Rico
August 21
20:00
Lithuania  94–90  United States
August 21
22:15
Angola  56–88  Greece
August 23
11:15
Lithuania  100–85  Australia
August 23
14:30
United States  89–53  Angola
August 23
22:15
Greece  78–58  Puerto Rico

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals
(August 26)
Semifinals
(August 27)
Gold-medal game
(August 28)
         
A1  Spain 94
B4  United States 102
B4  United States 81
A3  Argentina 89
A3  Argentina 69
B2  Greece 64
A3  Argentina 84
A2  Italy 69
B1  Lithuania 95
A4  China 75
B1  Lithuania 91 Bronze-medal game
(August 28)
A2  Italy 100
A2  Italy 83 B4  United States 104
B3  Puerto Rico 70 B1  Lithuania 96

Classification round

August 24
14:30
11th place
Serbia and Montenegro  85–62  Angola
August 24
16:45
9th place
New Zealand  80–98  Australia
August 28
9:00
7th place
China  76–92  Spain
August 28
11:15
5th place
Puerto Rico  75–85  Greece

Women's tournament

Preliminary round

The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Group A

Pos Team
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Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 5 5 0 418 313 +105 10 Quarterfinals
2  Russia 5 4 1 389 333 +56 9
3  Brazil 5 3 2 430 361 +69 8
4  Greece (H) 5 2 3 353 392 −39 7
5  Japan 5 1 4 381 485 −104 6
6  Nigeria 5 0 5 335 422 −87 5
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
August 14
9:00
Australia  85–73  Nigeria
August 14
16:45
Japan  62–128  Brazil
August 14
20:00
Greece  62–69  Russia
August 16
11:15
Nigeria  73–79  Japan
August 16
20:00
Brazil  87–75  Greece
August 16
22:15
Russia  56–75  Australia
August 18
11:15
Japan  78–97  Australia
August 18
16:45
Greece  83–68  Nigeria
August 18
20:00
Brazil  67–77  Russia
August 20
9:00
Russia  94–71  Japan
August 20
20:00
Australia  77–40  Greece
August 20
22:15
Nigeria  63–82  Brazil
August 22
11:15
Nigeria  58–93  Russia
August 22
14:30
Brazil  66–84  Australia
August 22
16:45
Greece  93–91  Japan

Group B

Pos Team
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Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  United States 5 5 0 430 285 +145 10 Quarterfinals
2  Spain 5 4 1 368 334 +34 9
3  Czech Republic 5 3 2 408 375 +33 8
4  New Zealand 5 2 3 321 414 −93 7
5  China 5 1 4 360 406 −46 6
6  South Korea 5 0 5 320 393 −73 5
Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
August 14
11:15
South Korea  54–71  China
August 14
22:15
Spain  80–78  Czech Republic
August 16
16:45
China  67–75  Spain
August 18
9:00
China  83–98  Czech Republic
August 18
14:30
South Korea  57–80  United States
August 18
22:15
Spain  91–57  New Zealand
August 20
11:15
New Zealand  79–77  China
August 20
14:30
United States  71–58  Spain
August 22
20:00
China  62–100  United States
August 22
22:15
Spain  64–61  South Korea

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals
(August 25)
Semifinals
(August 27)
Gold-medal game
(August 28)
         
A1  Australia 94
B4  New Zealand 55
A1  Australia 88
A3  Brazil 75
A3  Brazil 67
B2  Spain 64
A1  Australia 63
B1  United States 74
B1  United States 102
A4  Greece 72
B1  United States 66 Bronze-medal game
(August 28)
A2  Russia 62
A2  Russia 70 A3  Brazil 62
B3  Czech Republic 49 A2  Russia 71

Classification round

August 24
9:00
11th place
Nigeria  68–64  South Korea
August 24
11:15
9th place
Japan  63–82  China
August 27
9:00
7th place
Greece  87–83  New Zealand
August 27
11:15
5th place
Czech Republic  79–68  Spain

Final standings

Rank Men Women
Team Pld W L Team Pld W L
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Argentina 8 6 2  United States 8 8 0
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Italy 8 5 3  Australia 8 7 1
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  United States 8 5 3  Russia 8 6 2
4th  Lithuania 8 6 2  Brazil 8 4 4
Eliminated at the quarterfinals
5th  Greece 7 4 3  Czech Republic 7 4 3
6th  Puerto Rico 7 3 4  Spain 7 4 3
7th  Spain 7 6 1  Greece 7 3 4
8th  China 7 2 5  New Zealand 7 2 5
Preliminary round 5th placers
9th  Australia 6 2 4  China 6 2 4
10th  New Zealand 6 1 5  Japan 6 1 5
Preliminary round 6th placers
11th  Serbia and Montenegro 6 2 4  Nigeria 6 1 5
12th  Angola 6 0 6  South Korea 6 0 6

References

  1. ^ Olympic Games Official Report 2004 Athens-Volume II Archived 19 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

  • Olympics: men's basketball tournament 2004
  • Olympics: women's basketball yournament 2004
  • FIBA Olympic basketball website
  • 2004 Olympic Games: Tournament for Men, FIBA Archive. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  • 2004 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women, FIBA Archive. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  • Official result book – Basketball
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