Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Olympic basketball tournament was held at the Carioca Arena 1 and the Youth Arena, with the men playing all their games at Carioca, and the women playing group play at the Youth Arena and the knockout games at Carioca, which was within the Olympic Park. There were no changes in the tournament formats, with tournaments for men and women, and 12 teams qualified for each class. FIBA had considered adding a 3x3 tournament, which had been successful at the Youth Olympic Games, but this was not approved by the IOC. Group play of six teams in each group advanced four teams from each group to the quarter-finals. The United States’ teams were heavily favored in both events and they did not disappoint. The USA men had a few close games in group play, but won easily in the elimination rounds. The USA women were even more dominant and were never closely challenged in any game.

The qualifying teams came from various sources. In the men’s tournament the USA qualified as 2014 World Champion (by then called the World Cup), while Brazil was admitted as host nation. The winners of continental qualifying tournaments were admitted, with the runners-up at the Americas and European tournaments also qualifying. Three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments were held in the early summer of 2016, with the winner of each tournament advancing to the Olympic tournament.

In the women’s tournament, the qualifying system was similar, although not precisely the same. The USA again qualified as the World Champion and Brazil as the host nation. Continental qualifying tournaments advanced only their winners to the Olympics, while a single Olympic Qualifying Tournament was held in Nantes, France, in June 2016, with the top five teams advancing to the Olympics.