Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics — basketball played during the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Rio Olympics basketball tournament marked the first time men's and women's events were held in separate venues, with the United States claiming both gold medals.
Key Facts
- Olympic appearance
- 19th time basketball appeared as an official event
- Dates
- 6 August – 21 August 2016
- Men's venue capacity
- 16,000 spectators
- Men's venue
- Carioca Arena 1, Olympic Park
- Women's venue
- Youth Arena
- Gold medalist (both events)
- United States
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Basketball was included as part of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics program, continuing its presence as an official medal sport since its Olympic debut. Venue logistics and the expansion of Olympic facilities led organizers to assign men's and women's competitions to separate arenas for the first time in the sport's Olympic history.
Basketball competitions were held from 6 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Men's matches took place at Carioca Arena 1 in Olympic Park, seating up to 16,000, while women's matches were held at the Youth Arena. The United States won both the men's and women's gold medals, with Serbia and Spain sharing the remaining medals across both tournaments. Host nation Brazil was eliminated in the group stage of both events.
The United States reinforced its dominance in Olympic basketball by sweeping both gold medals. The host nation Brazil's early exit in both the men's and women's tournaments from the group stage was a notable disappointment. The use of separate venues for men's and women's competitions established a new logistical precedent for future Olympic basketball tournaments.