In today's world, Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics is an issue that continues to gain relevance in society. Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics has long captured the interest of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Whether for its impressive technological advances, its controversial political decisions or its innovative artistic proposals, Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics never ceases to surprise and generate debate. Over the years, Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics has been a recurring topic in the media and has sparked the interest of researchers and academics from various disciplines. In this article, we will explore different aspects of Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, analyzing its influence today and the possible repercussions it could have in the future.
16th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
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Athens 2004 | |||||||||
Tournament details | |||||||||
Olympics | 2004 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Host nation | Greece | ||||||||
City | Athens | ||||||||
Duration | 15–28 August 2004 | ||||||||
Men's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 12 | ||||||||
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Women's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 12 | ||||||||
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Tournaments | |||||||||
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Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics | ||
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Tournament | ||
men | women | |
Squads | ||
men | women | |
Qualification | ||
men | women | |
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.
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.
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.
Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
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Angola | United States Argentina Puerto Rico |
China | Lithuania Spain Italy |
Australia New Zealand |
Serbia and Montenegro – World champions Greece – Olympic hosts |
Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
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Nigeria | Brazil | China Japan South Korea |
Russia Czech Republic Spain |
Australia New Zealand |
United States – World champions Greece – Olympic hosts |
Tie-breaking criteria:
The men's event involved twelve teams split equally into two groups.
Group A: |
Group B:
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The women's event involved 12 teams split in two groups.
Group A: |
Group B:
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The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Spain | 5 | 5 | 0 | 405 | 349 | +56 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Italy | 5 | 3 | 2 | 371 | 341 | +30 | 8 | |
3 | Argentina | 5 | 3 | 2 | 414 | 396 | +18 | 8 | |
4 | China | 5 | 2 | 3 | 303 | 382 | −79 | 7 | |
5 | New Zealand | 5 | 1 | 4 | 399 | 413 | −14 | 6 | 9th place playoff |
6 | Serbia and Montenegro | 5 | 1 | 4 | 377 | 388 | −11 | 6 | 11th place playoff |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Lithuania | 5 | 5 | 0 | 468 | 414 | +54 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Greece | 5 | 3 | 2 | 389 | 343 | +46 | 8 | |
3 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 3 | 2 | 410 | 411 | −1 | 8 | |
4 | United States | 5 | 3 | 2 | 418 | 389 | +29 | 8 | |
5 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 383 | 411 | −28 | 6 | 9th place playoff |
6 | Angola | 5 | 0 | 5 | 321 | 421 | −100 | 5 | 11th place playoff |
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 |
The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
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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 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
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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 |
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 |
Rank | Men | Women | ||||||
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Team | Pld | W | L | Team | Pld | W | L | |
Argentina | 8 | 6 | 2 | United States | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
Italy | 8 | 5 | 3 | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | |
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 |