Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo need these tournaments to make the Olympics.
Only 12 national teams will compete to win basketball gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and we already know eight of the competitors.
24 teams, however, are eligible to compete for the final four spots in the tournament. The following teams, many of which qualified based on their play at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, will be divided into four groups of six at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.
Each tournament will be hosted by one of the six participating national federations. Each continent is expected to host one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
The winner of each of these four tournaments will join the eight teams that have already qualified, including the USA and Canada, at the Paris Olympics.
Some of the national teams with the most medals in Olympic basketball history (e.g. Spain, Brazil, Lithuania and Italy) are among those who will have to fight for a spot in Paris.
Several notable players (e.g. Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis) will need to use this tournament to advance as well.
USA and Canada men’s basketball have both qualified for the Olympics.
Although each national team wants to win the tournament, the FIBA World Cup also helps determine what nations will qualify for the Olympics.
Only a dozen teams will compete in Paris and we already know six of those nations, which we will review below. The placements thus far are based on universality, to ensure each continent is represented, and performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The host nation (France) automatically earns a bid to play in the tournament. Two teams from the Americas, two teams from Europe, one team from Asia, one team from Africa and one team from Oceania will also get placement as well.
If a team is listed in bold, that means they have officially punched their ticket and will compete in the 2024 Olympics.
Three asterisks next to the nation indicate that the team made it to the final phase of the tournament before elimination but still qualified for a wildcard spot via the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.
Similarly, two asterisks next to the nation indicate that the team made it to the second round of the tournament before elimination but qualified for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament as well.
One asterisk next to the nation indicates that the team did not make it to the second round of the tournament but also managed to qualify for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the class of 17 – 32.
Meanwhile, a strikethrough on the team name suggests that based on their performance during the FIBA World Cup, the team did not qualify for any of the four Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
Wembanyama said his goal is to beat the United States.
This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
Wembamyama is heavily favored as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and he is projected to make a massive impact during his rookie season for the Spurs. But no matter how it goes in San Antonio, once his first year in the U.S. is over, the big man business to take care of back home in France.
With him on the floor, Les Bleus has a chance to take home a gold medal in basketball for the first time in the nation’s history. Meanwhile, other than the U.S. in 1984 and 1996, no host country has ever won gold for men’s basketball at the Olympics.
The French national team is currently ranked No. 5 in the FIBA world rankings, and they finished second in the recent Eurobasket tournament. The roster had several NBA players, including Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.
How many other basketball players in the world can attempt a stepback 3-pointer and then turn it into a putback dunk? There is a reason why Magic Johnson told For The Win that Wembanyama will “change his franchise” and the league forever.
While he was still just 18 years old during the first two games, his stats were jaw-dropping. Per 40 minutes, via Cerebro Sports: The big man averaged 29.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 4.3 blocks. He also shot 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) on his 3-pointers. France won all four games.
France is coached by Vincent Collet, who also coaches Wembanyama on Metropolitans 92 in France’s top-tier league. Wembanyama secured the scoring title, and he also led the league in rebounds, blocks and total minutes.
Despite the emergence of Wembanyama, however, the U.S. should be favored to win win the gold medal in Paris. But those odds could easily swing based on a decision from Joel Embiid, who gained French citizenship and U.S. citizenship last year.
Former NBA player Boris Diaw, who is the general manager of the French national men’s basketball team, “remains confident” that Embiid will play for Les Bleus in the Olympics.
Embiid could change the landscape of international basketball with his Olympic decision. But he isn’t the only player with a massive decision to make.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, amid speculation about his potential retirement, LeBron James is unlikely to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It’s unclear what the rest of the roster could look like, but it was a mess in Tokyo, and they’ll need serious depth in the frontcourt.
The U.S. frankly may not have the size necessary to match up with a team that includes Embiid, Wembanyama and Gobert. Especially as the host country, France could have a real shot at a gold medal.
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