Basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to tip off on Saturday, July 27.
Both the men’s and women’s tournaments will begin on the same day as 12 countries from each side pursue a gold medal.
The United States is favored to win both fields, with superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant leading the charge on the men’s squad and A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi headlining the women’s team.
As Group Stage play gets underway, The Sporting News has you covered with all the details you need to know on how the Olympic basketball tournament format works below.
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Olympic basketball tournament format, explained
For both the men’s and women’s tournaments, the 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 12 countries broken up into groups of four.
Each team will play the other three countries in their group. The first- and second-place teams in each group and the two best third-place teams will advance to the eight-team knockout round.
A draw will determine the quarterfinal matchups based on seeding. Teams from the same group cannot play each other in the first round of the knockout stage.
Once those matchups are set, it will be a standard single-elimination bracket…
