Basketball is a popular sport played all over the world, however, it is most popular in the United States, where it was introduced for the first time. Since 1936, basketball has always been a men's sport in the Summer Olympics. It was first held as a demonstration event in 1904, before becoming a medal sport. 1976 was the flourishing year for basketball when the Summer Olympics saw the first appearance of women's basketball. Basketball will be played at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, from July 24 to August 8, 2021. In addition, 3x3 basketball is anticipated to become an official Olympic sport for both men and women beginning with the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan by the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board. To inform that, the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, as well as the Summer Olympics basketball tournaments, are all organized by FIBA and sanctioned by the IOC.
With men's teams winning 15 of the 18 events, the United States is undoubtedly the most prominent nation in Olympic basketball, with seven wins in a row from 1936 to 1968. The women's teams of the United States have won eight of the ten events, including six consecutive victories from 1996 to 2016. Team USA has recently entered the Tokyo Olympics as the three-time reigning gold medalist, but they are coming off a disappointing seventh-place performance at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the lowest finish by a US team in a major international competition.
Apart from the United States, Argentina is the only country to have won both the men's and women's tournaments. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and the Unified Team are the only countries that have won the tournament that is no longer in existence. In both the men's and women's events, the United States is the authoritative champion.
Qualification Process
We may go back to the history of the qualification process since it was indicated as rich in documents. The qualifying process consists of basically three stages as of 2012. And a new qualification process is being considered to be implemented for the men's competition in 2020. Seven teams will qualify directly after the 2019 FIBA World Cup including the top two European and American teams, as well as the best teams from Asia, Africa, and Oceania. At the Olympic qualifiers, the succeeding 16 most qualified teams from the FIBA World Cup will enter the two teams from each continent. It will consist of four groups of six teams, with the best team from each group receiving the remaining Olympic spots. The Olympic qualification will no longer be held at the continental championships.
In the 3x3 qualification, the eight teams in each of the men's and women's competitions will be determined as of the recent qualification. Japan, the host country, is only guaranteed one spot, not one for each gender. The world ranking will decide four teams per gender. An Olympic Qualifying Tournament will choose three teams from each gender. A Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament will decide the final squad for each gender.
Highest Medalist Nations
Many champions come from the United States, and they have also won through some of the consecutive years. However, there are other nations that have had their victories in different years. They are as follows:
United States (USA) 28 Medals (Gold 23), Soviet Union (URS) 12 Medals (Gold 4), Yugoslavia (YUG) 8 Medals (Gold 1), Argentina (ARG) 2 Medals (Gold 1), Unified Team (EUN) 1 Medal (Gold 1), Spain (ESP) 5 Medals (Gold 0), Australia (AUS) 5 Medals (Gold 0), France (FRA) 3 Medals (Gold 0), Italy (ITA) 2 Medals (Gold 0), Brazil (BRA) 5 Medals (Gold 0).
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