Team USA has won 25 Olympic gold medals in basketball, 21 more than the closest competitor, the Russian Federation.
The U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, comprising NBA and WNBA talent, enter the 2024 Paris Olympics having won a combined 11 straight Olympic gold medals. The country’s modern dominance in the sport can be traced to two singular moments: the formation of the 1992 Dream Team, and the collection of women who took the 1996 Atlanta Games and the basketball world by storm.
Here’s a historical look at the NBA and WNBA at the Olympics.
When were NBA players allowed to compete in Olympic basketball?
The 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona marked the first Games where FIBA allowed NBA players to participate in Olympic tournaments.
Before 1992, only amateur basketball players were permitted on U.S. Olympic teams, while other countries were allowed to form national teams with the best players from their respective domestic professional leagues.
What changed the rule?
Team USA lost to the Russian Federation at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics and settled for bronze. It was the worst finish by the Americans since basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936.
The next year, FIBA voted 56-13 to allow professional basketball players to compete in its…
