The 2024 Paris Olympics brings basketball back into the iconic games, and it promises to be a great competition.
Some of the world’s leading players will be involved as they battle it out for the gold medal.
Basketball has been a staple in the Olympics for some time, and the USA men’s team will be looking to make it five gold medals in a row.
Meanwhile, the women are seeking their eighth consecutive gold.
Team GB have decided not to enter a team this year, but there are still going to be plenty of stars for fans to watch.
Basketball at Paris 2024: Dates and schedule
The basketball events for both the men and the women are set to get going on Saturday, July 27 and will end on Sunday, August 11.
In the men’s tournament, the final will take place on Saturday, August 10 and the women’s a day later.
The winning team in each competition will receive a gold, and the runner-up will take a silver.
There will be a bronze medal game held on the day of each respective final to decide who takes third.
Both finals will be at the Bercy Arena.
The other venue for the basketball is the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Basketball at Paris 2024: Rules and format
For the majority, international basketball has the same rules as what you see in the NBA.
However, there are some differences.
Scoring remains the same, with two points awarded for field goals made inside the three-point arc. It’s three points for a field goal outside of that arc and one for a free throw.
But the three-point line is slightly closer than it is in NBA.
For the Games, matches are divided into four ten-minute quarters, and if the score is level at full time, a five minute overtime period is played to determine a winner.
If a player makes five fouls, they are out of the game.
The group phase of the basketball comes to an end on Sunday, August 4.
In total, there are 12 teams competing in the men’s and women’s version, with 12 players available for selection, but only five are allowed on court at any one time.
As it stands, eight teams have qualified, with the final four for the men’s being sorted through qualifying.
But the women’s draw and groups are set.
The 12 teams are split into three groups, with two points available for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.
The top two sides progress to the knockout rounds, plus the two best third-placed sides.
Recent basketball medal winners
Men’s
Tokyo 2020 – USA (Gold), France (Silver), SAustralia (Bronze)
Rio de Janeiro 2016 – USA (Gold), Serbia (Silver), Spain (Bronze)
London 2012 – USA (Gold), Spain (Silver), Russia (Bronze)
Beijing 2008 – USA (Gold), Spain (Silver), Argentina (Bronze)
Athens 2004 – Argentina (Gold), Italy (Silver), USA (Bronze)
Women’s
Tokyo 2020 – USA (Gold), Japan (Silver), France (Bronze)
Rio de Janeiro 2016 – USA (Gold), Spain (Silver), Serbia (Bronze)
London 2012 – USA (Gold), France (Silver), Australia (Bronze)
Beijing 2008 – USA (Gold), Australia (Silver), Russia (Bronze)
Athens 2004 – USA (Gold), Australia (Silver), Russia (Bronze)
Basketball at Paris 2024: Teams and notable players
Here are the groups for basketball at the Olympics.
Men’s
- Group A: Australia, Canada, qualifier one, qualifier two
- Group B: France, Germany, Japan, qualifier three
- Group C: Serbia, South Sudan, United States, qualifier four
Women’s
- Group A: China, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Spain
- Group B: Australia, France, Canada, Nigeria
- Group C: Belgium, Germany, Japan United States
There are some huge names set to take part in basketball at Paris 2024.
The men’s USA side is packed with NBA stars, including the legendary LeBron James, who, at 39, will be making his final Olympic appearance.
France have Victor Wembanyama among their ranks.
Nikola Jokic is Serbia’s star player and is widely considered to be one of the NBA’s greatest players.
On the women’s side of the draw, the USA boast some of the greatest players in the WNBA.
A’Ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray are all names to watch out for as the United States look to continue their dominance.
Basketball at Paris 2024: How to follow
talkSPORT will be covering the entirety of the Olympic Games.
Our multi-award-winning presenters and pundits will provide fans with unlimited coverage and content from Paris.
talkSPORT.com will also keep you up to date with all the latest.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
The Olympics will also be shown across all of the BBC’s channels in the UK.
This can be viewed for free on TV as well as live-streamed through the BBC Website or BBC iPlayer via tablet or mobile devices.
TNT Sports and Discovery+ will also have coverage with the action broadcast live on Eurosport with fans able to subscribe here.