Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the indoor arena in the Helliniko Olympic Complex for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex.
Reigning gold medallists from the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics in both the men's and women's event, the United States of America failed to retain its men's title, but successfully defended its women's title.
Qualification
In each competition, 12 teams took part in the Olympics. The host nation (Greece) automatically received a berth in both tournaments. Winning in the 2002 World Championships also earned a berth for Serbia and Montenegro (as Yugoslavia at the time) in the men's tournament and the United States in the women's.
The remaining 10 spots in each tournament were allocated to the five Olympic continents. Each continent held a tournament to determine its entries. Africa received 1 spot in each sex, Oceania received 2, and Europe received 3. America received 3 places in the men's tournament but only 1 in the women's, while Asia received 1 in the men's and 3 in the women's.
Results
Men's
Final ranking
Argentina
Italy
United States of America
Lithuania
Greece
Puerto Rico
Spain
People's Republic of China
Australia
- New Zealand
- Serbia and Montenegro
Angola
Tournament Summary
Pool Play: Group A
Spain was one of two teams to go undefeated in the preliminary round – the other being Lithuania in Group B. World champions Serbia & Montenegro played its worst Olympic performance ever, finishing last in the pool having lost to all but Italy.
| August 15
| 11:15
| Italy
| 71
| -
| 69
| New Zealand
|
| 14:30
| China
| 58
| -
| 83
| Spain
|
| 16:45
| Argentina
| 83
| -
| 82
| Serbia & Montenegro
|
| August 17
| 09:00
| New Zealand
| 62
| -
| 69
| China
|
| 16:45
| Serbia & Montenegro
| 74
| -
| 72
| Italy
|
| 20:00
| Spain
| 87
| -
| 76
| Argentina
|
| August 19
| 09:00
| Serbia & Montenegro
| 87
| -
| 90
| New Zealand
|
| 11:15
| Italy
| 63
| -
| 71
| Spain
|
| 20:00
| Argentina
| 82
| -
| 57
| China
|
| August 21
| 11:15
| Spain
| 76
| -
| 68
| Serbia & Montenegro
|
| 14:30
| New Zealand
| 94
| -
| 98
| Argentina
|
| 16:45
| China
| 52
| -
| 89
| Italy
|
| August 23
| 09:00
| Spain
| 88
| -
| 84
| New Zealand
|
| 16:45
| Serbia & Montenegro
| 66
| -
| 67
| China
|
| 20:00
| Italy
| 76
| -
| 75
| Argentina
|
Pool Play: Group B
Lithuania, like Spain, went undefeated in the preliminaries. The United States, the defending champions, overcame losses to Puerto Rico and Lithuania to advance to the quarter finals.
| August 15
| 09:00
| Angola
| 73
| -
| 78
| Lithuania
|
| 20:00
| Puerto Rico
| 92
| -
| 73
| United States
|
| 22:15
| Greece
| 76
| -
| 54
| Australia
|
| August 17
| 11.15
| Australia
| 83
| -
| 59
| Angola
|
| 14:30
| Lithuania
| 98
| -
| 90
| Puerto Rico
|
| 22:15
| United States
| 77
| -
| 71
| Greece
|
| August 19
| 14:30
| United States
| 89
| -
| 79
| Australia
|
| 16:45
| Puerto Rico
| 83
| -
| 80
| Angola
|
| 22:15
| Greece
| 76
| -
| 98
| Lithuania
|
| August 21
| 09:00
| Australia
| 82
| -
| 87
| Puerto Rico
|
| 20:00
| Lithuania
| 94
| -
| 90
| United States
|
| 22:15
| Angola
| 56
| -
| 88
| Greece
|
| August 23
| 11.15
| Lithuania
| 100
| -
| 85
| Australia
|
| 14:30
| United States
| 89
| -
| 53
| Angola
|
| 22:15
| Greece
| 78
| -
| 58
| Puerto Rico
|
9th to 12th place classification
| August 24
| 14:30
| (11th) Serbia & Montenegro
| 85
| -
| 62
| Angola (12th)
|
| 16:45
| (10th) New Zealand
| 80
| -
| 98
| Australia (9th)
|
Serbia and Montenegro's 11th-place finish is their worst in Olympic history.
Leading scorers for 9th to 12th place classification:
- Serbia and Montenegro: Vlado Scepanovic 18 pts
- Angola: Gerson Monteiro 26 pts
- Australia: Shane Heal 30 pts
- New Zealand: Phillip Jones 18 pts
Quarter Finals
| August 26
| 14:30
| Spain
| 94
| -
| 102
| United States
|
| 16:45
| Lithuania
| 95
| -
| 75
| China
|
| 20:00
| Italy
| 83
| -
| 70
| Puerto Rico
|
| 22:15
| Greece
| 64
| -
| 69
| Argentina
|
In spite of an undefeated preliminary round, the Spaniards were ousted by the "Dream Team" to the jeers of the crowd assembled in the arena and to the chagrin of Spanish head coach Mario Pesquera .
Unlike their Spanish counterparts, however, the Lithuanians had an easy time disposing of the Del Harris -led Chinese squad.
Argentina, led by 13 points from both Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto , disposed of the home squad, led by the 12 points from Nikolaos Chatzivrettas .
Leading scorers for the quarter finals:
5th to 8th place classification
| August 28
| 09:00
| (8th) China
| 76
| -
| 92
| Spain (7th)
|
| 11:15
| (6th) Puerto Rico
| 75
| -
| 85
| Greece (5th)
|
Leading scorers for 5th to 8th place classification:
- China: Li Nan 16 pts
- Spain: Jose Garbajosa 20 pts
- Puerto Rico: Elias Ayuso 14 pts
- Greece: Mikhail Kakiouzis 20 pts
Semi Finals
| August 27
| 20:00
| United States
| 81
| -
| 89
| Argentina
|
| 22:15
| Lithuania
| 91
| -
| 100
| Italy
|
It is not clear which of the two above games provided the most surprising defeat.
Leading scorers for the semi finals:
Bronze Medal Match
| August 28
| 20:00
| United States
| 104
| -
| 96
| Lithuania
|
The United States won its first bronze medal since 1988 by avenging the preliminary loss to Lithuania of one week earlier.
Leading scorers:
- United States: Shawn Marion 22 pts
- Lithuania: Arvydas Macijauskas 24 pts
Final
Argentina won its first ever Olympic gold medal in basketball and became the first nation other than the United States to win the gold medal since 1988.
Leading scorers:
- Argentina: Luis Alberto Scola 25 pts
- Italy: Matteo Soragna and Gianmarco Pozzecco 12 pts
Women's
Final ranking
- United States of America
- Australia
Russia
Brazil
Czech Republic
- Spain
- Greece
- New Zealand
- People's Republic of China
Japan
Nigeria
South Korea
Tournament Summary
Pool Play: Group A
| August 14
| 09:00
| Australia
| 85
| -
| 73
| Nigeria
|
| 16:45
| Japan
| 62
| -
| 127
| Brazil
|
| 20:00
| Greece
| 62
| -
| 69
| Russia
|
| August 16
| 11:15
| Nigeria
| 73
| -
| 79
| Japan
|
| 20:00
| Brazil
| 87
| -
| 75
| Greece
|
| 22:15
| Russia
| 56
| -
| 75
| Australia
|
| August 18
| 11:15
| Japan
| 78
| -
| 97
| Australia
|
| 16:45
| Greece
| 83
| -
| 68
| Nigeria
|
| 20:00
| Brazil
| 67
| -
| 77
| Russia
|
| August 20
| 09:00
| Russia
| 94
| -
| 71
| Japan
|
| 20:00
| Australia
| 77
| -
| 40
| Greece
|
| 22:15
| Nigeria
| 63
| -
| 82
| Brazil
|
| August 22
| 11:15
| Nigeria
| 58
| -
| 93
| Russia
|
| 14:30
| Brazil
| 66
| -
| 84
| Australia
|
| 16:45
| Greece
| 93
| -
| 91
| Japan
|
Pool Play: Group B
| August 14
| 11:15
| Korea
| 54
| -
| 71
| China
|
| 14:30
| United States
| 99
| -
| 47
| New Zealand
|
| 22:15
| Spain
| 80
| -
| 78
| Czech Republic
|
| August 16
| 09:00
| New Zealand
| 81
| -
| 73
| Korea
|
| 14:30
| Czech Republic
| 61
| -
| 80
| United States
|
| 16:45
| China
| 67
| -
| 75
| Spain
|
| August 18
| 09:00
| China
| 83
| -
| 98
| Czech Republic
|
| 14:30
| Korea
| 57
| -
| 80
| United States
|
| 22:15
| Spain
| 91
| -
| 57
| New Zealand
|
| August 20
| 11:15
| New Zealand
| 79
| -
| 77
| China
|
| 14:30
| United States
| 71
| -
| 58
| Spain
|
| 16:45
| Czech Republic
| 97
| -
| 75
| Korea
|
| August 22
| 09:00
| New Zealand
| 57
| -
| 74
| Czech Republic
|
| 20:00
| China
| 62
| -
| 100
| United States
|
| 22:15
| Spain
| 64
| -
| 61
| Korea
|
9th to 12th place classification
| August 24
| 09:00
| (11th) Nigeria
| 68
| -
| 64
| South Korea (12th)
|
| 11:15
| (10th) Japan
| 63
| -
| 82
| China (9th)
|
5th to 8th place classification
| August 27
| 09:00
| (7th) Greece
| 87
| -
| 83
| New Zealand (8th)
|
| 11:15
| (5th) Czech Republic
| 79
| -
| 68
| Spain (6th)
|
Quarter-finals
| August 25
| 14:30
| Russia
| 70
| -
| 49
| Czech Republic
|
| 16:45
| United States
| 100
| -
| 72
| Greece
|
| 20:00
| Spain
| 63
| -
| 67
| Brazil
|
| 22:15
| Australia
| 94
| -
| 55
| New Zealand
|
Semi finals
| August 27
| 14:30
| Russia
| 62
| -
| 66
| United States
|
| 16:45
| Brazil
| 75
| -
| 88
| Australia
|
Bronze Medal Match
Final
| August 28
| 16:15
| Australia
| 63
| -
| 74
| United States
|
Teams
See Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics (team squads)
External links
Argentina
Italy
Australia
Russia
Spain
China
Lithuania
Greece
Puerto Rico
Angola
Brazil
Nigeria
Japan
Czech Republic
South Korea