The men’s basketball competition is one of the most exciting Olympic events, and the teams competing for gold in Paris this summer are stacked. Team USA is the heavy favorite to win gold for the fifth straight Olympic Games, thanks to a star-studded roster that includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. But that’s not to say there aren’t top-flight international teams competing.
Twelve teams qualified for the Olympics and have been divided into three groups that begin play on July 27. The top 8 teams will advance to the knockout stages, with the top two teams in each group and the two best third-place teams drawn into a single-elimination bracket to determine the matchups for the gold and bronze medals. But before competition begins, let’s rank all 12 teams in the tournament.
12. South Sudan
The Cinderella story of this tournament is South Sudan, which only became an officially recognized country in 2011 and earned Africa’s automatic bid to the Paris Games with a strong showing at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Simply getting to the Olympics is a huge accomplishment for the South Sudan Bright Stars, whose roster features a load of youngsters getting their first taste of competition against the world’s best.
The draw was not kind for South Sudan, which was placed into Group C alongside the U.S. and Serbia (two of the heavy favorites for a medal) and a surging Puerto Rico squad. The odds may be stacked against them, but South Sudan should experience enormous pride by simply earning the right to be on the court with the world’s basketball super powers.
11. Puerto Rico
The Puerto Ricans earned their way to Paris by winning one of the four qualifying tournaments. (Pelicans’ guard Jose Alvarado is the most recognizable name on this year’s team.) This will be the first time Puerto Rico has reached the Olympics since 2004, when they had one of their biggest moments in team history by upsetting the United States in a group stage match.
The two sides will play against each other once more in Group C, but getting out of a group with the U.S. and Serbia won’t be easy for Los Gallos. They will need to find a way to pull off an upset in order to have a shot to advance.
10. Japan
The lone Asian team in the tournament, Japan will be making its second consecutive appearance at the Games after serving as the host for the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The Japanese earned their shot by being the highest-ranked Asian side at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, marking their first non-hosting qualification since 1976.
The most notable names for NBA fans are Lakers’ forward Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe, who played last season in Japan after spending the past few years playing for various NBA teams as a role player. Defense has been an issue for Japan, but they will look to rely on their offense to advance out of Group B as a potential third-place team.
9. Brazil
The second team on this list to earn their place in a qualification tournament this summer, Brazil is here thanks to wins over the Philippines and Latvia in the knockout stages. Those results were a moment of redemption for the Brazilian side, which narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Tokyo Games after a heartbreaking loss to Germany in a qualifying tournament three years ago.
There is some NBA talent on Brazil’s roster and notable players who have spent time in the league, including Raul Neto, Cristiano Felicio, Bruno Caboclo and Didi Louzada. The Brazilians were drawn into Group B, where they will likely be competing with Japan for a spot among the top third-place teams to reach the knockout stage.
8. Australia
Oceania’s representative at the Paris Games, Australia has qualified for 14 consecutive Olympics and reached a high-water mark by claiming the bronze medal at the Tokyo games three years ago. The Boomers have also begun producing more NBA talent in recent years, with the Olympic roster including current players Dyson Daniels, Josh Giddey, Joe Ingles and veteran Patty Mills, who will serve as the team’s captain.
Despite getting drawn into the difficult Group A, Australia has enough talent to give their group mates Canada, Spain and Greece a run for their money. Expect the Australians to be a strong bet to rank among the top third-place teams at minimum, with an outside shot at a guaranteed knockout berth (they would need to finish among the top two in their group).
7. Greece
Getting to start with arguably the best player in the world is a boon for Greece, who will build their team around the talents of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the unquestioned face of their roster. Greece won a qualifying tournament to reach the Games. And shockingly, this is the first time the Greeks have qualified for the Olympics during Antetokounmpo’s career, making this his first chance to earn a medal on the global stage.
There are talented role players around Antetokounmpo, including sharp-shooting big man Georgios Papagiannis and facilitator Nick Calathes, but the Greeks will go as far as Giannis can take them. Group A will be a gauntlet for Greece to get through, but there are high hopes for the country’s first Olympic appearance since 2008.
6. Spain
There’s a wide range of outcomes for La Roja, who medaled at three straight Olympics between 2008 and 2016 before dropping to sixth in Tokyo. Spain has an experienced roster that has shown recent highs (a 2022 Eurobasket title) and lows (finishing ninth at 2023’s FIBA World Cup) to require a qualifying tournament win to reach Paris. That makes them the biggest wild card of the Games.
The FIBA World Rankings are high on Spain, ranking them second as of late February. A core led by international veterans with NBA experience (Rudy Fernandez) paired with rising international talent (Usman Garuba and Santi Aldama) should do well against Group A competition. A run to the medal round is certainly possible, but the difficulty of their group could see the Spaniards sink to fourth if their inconsistent form returns.
5. Canada
The golden generation of Canadian basketball has arrived, as America’s neighbors to the north have begun producing NBA talent in spades. A bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup punched Canada’s first Olympic ticket since 2000, and they have all the talent necessary to go on another run to the medal round here as well.
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the star for Team Canada, which also features versatile weapons like Lu Dort, Jamal Murray, R.J. Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dillon Brooks. While post play may not be a strength for the Canadians, their capability on the wings and ability to put the ball in the basket gives them an excellent chance to finish inside the top two of the rugged Group A.
4. Serbia
Nikola Jokic is the headliner on a deep Serbian team that is back in the Olympics for the first time since 2016, when they lost by 30 to the United States in the gold medal game. Serbia is clicking right now after winning a silver medal last year at the FIBA World Cup and takes tremendous pride in their ability to compete against the world’s top superpowers on the court.
While there are other notable names for American hoops fans, including Bogdan Bogdanovic, a large majority of Serbia’s roster has had success overseas. And head coach Svetislav Pesic has been tremendous at getting the group to gel together into a medal-worthy outfit. The Group C opener against Team USA on July 28 will be a big measuring stick for Serbia, which hopes to show they can compete against the tournament favorite on their path to another spot on the podium.
3. Germany
The star power may not be there for Germany compared to some of the other teams at the Olympics, but this group has shown some serious pedigree for winning international competitions. Germany is the reigning FIBA World Cup champion. They also finished third at Eurobasket in 2022. All of this has been part of a steady progression for their core after qualifying for the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago.
Veteran Dennis Schroeder serves as the captain for the Germans, who also have the Wagner brothers (Orlando’s Franz and Mo) serving as anchors for their starting lineup. Tangling with France in Group B play should serve as a strong early test for Germany, whose experience playing together could serve them well in this tournament.
2. France
The host nation has quite possibly the best combination of bigs in the tournament with defensive menace Rudy Gobert and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembenyama. There is plenty of experience in international competition as well with NBA veterans Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and Frank Ntilikina playing key roles for Les Blues.
The French are also the last team to defeat Team USA in Olympic play, topping the Americans in group play in Tokyo before losing to them by five in the gold medal game. Having the home fans behind them could make all the difference for France, which adds Wembenyama to their mix and has the best shot of this field to dethrone the Americans.
1. United States
The Americans are the basketball favorites in every recent Olympics thanks to the incredible depth of star power they can access for their rosters. While continuity will never exist thanks to the revolving cast of stars who play at various international competitions, the United States is set to roll out a much stronger roster in Paris than they had for the 2020 games in Tokyo.
After a young team finished fourth at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Steve Kerr assembled a roster that features seven players with Olympic experience. They’re headlined by LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, who became a U.S. citizen this year. That gives the group an Olympic record four players who have won NBA MVP honors.
While the big names will draw headlines, the United States has built a well-balanced roster that features scoring (Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum), facilitators (Tyrese Haliburton), rim protection (Bam Adebayo) and perimeter defense (Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, an injury replacement for Kawhi Leonard). This makes them the favorites to take home the gold once again.