# Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics was the eleventh appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at The Forum in Inglewood, California, United States from July 29 to August 10. The United States won the gold medal in both events, with the women's team's victory marking their first-ever gold medal. Due to the boycott, the Soviet Union and Hungary withdrew from the tournament. The former, having already qualified for both events was replaced by West Germany in the men's competition, while both nations' women's teams were replaced by Australia and South Korea.

## Medal summary

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's details | United States (USA)Steve Alford Leon Wood Patrick Ewing Vernon Fleming Alvin Robertson Michael Jordan Joe Kleine Jon Koncak Wayman Tisdale Chris Mullin Sam Perkins Jeff Turner | Spain (ESP)José Manuel Beirán José Luis Llorente Fernando Arcega Josep Maria Margall Andrés Jiménez Fernando Romay Fernando Martín Juan Antonio Corbalán Ignacio Solozábal Juan Domingo de la Cruz Juan Manuel López Iturriaga Juan Antonio San Epifanio, "Epi" | Yugoslavia (YUG)Dražen Petrović Aleksandar Petrović Rajko Žižić Andro Knego Nebojša Zorkić Ivan Sunara Sabit Hadžić Dražen Dalipagić Emir Mutapčić Ratko Radovanović Mihovil Nakić Branko Vukićević |
| Women's details | United States (USA) Teresa Edwards Lea Henry Lynette Woodard Anne Donovan Cathy Boswell Cheryl Miller Janice Lawrence Cindy Noble Kim Mulkey Denise Curry Pam McGee Carol Menken-Schaudt | South Korea (KOR) Choi Aei-young Kim Eun-sook Lee Hyung-sook Choi Kyung-hee Lee Mi-ja Moon Kyung-ja Kim Hwa-soon Jeong Myung-hee Kim Young-hee Sung Jung-a Park Chan-sook Park Yang-gae | China (CHN) Chen Yuefang Li Xiaoqin Ba Yan Song Xiaobo Qiu Chen Wang Jun Xiu Lijuan Zheng Haixia Cong Xuedi Zhang Hui Liu Qing Zhang Yueqin |

## Qualification

A NOC may enter up to one men's team with 12 players and up to one women's team with 12 players. Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country for both events plus the gold and silver medal winners from the previous Olympic Games in the men's tournament, and the champion at the 1983 FIBA World Championship in the women's tournament. Additional spots for the men's tournament were decided via the continental championships held by FIBA, while additional spots for the women's competition were assigned to the top six teams in a tournament held in Havana, Cuba.

### Men

| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
| Host nation | 18 May 1978 | Athens | 1 | United States |
| 1980 Summer Olympics | 20–30 July 1980 | Moscow | 2 | Yugoslavia Italy |
| 1983 FIBA Oceania Championship | 30 August–3 September 1983 | New Zealand | 1 | Australia |
| 1983 ABC Championship | 20 – 29 November 1983 | Hong Kong | 1 | China |
| FIBA Africa Championship 1983 | 19–28 December 1983 | Alexandria | 1 | Egypt |
| 1984 Tournament of the Americas | 15–24 May 1984 | São Paulo | 3 | Brazil Uruguay Canada |
| 1984 European Qualifying Tournament | 15–25 May 1984 | Switzerland | 3 | Soviet Union Spain France West Germany |
| Total | | | 12 | |

### Women

| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
| Host nation | 18 May 1978 | Athens | 1 | United States |
| 1983 FIBA World Championship for Women | 24 July – 6 August 1983 | Brazil | 1 0 | Soviet Union |
| World Qualifying Tournament | 5–16 May 1984 | Havana | 4 5 | China Yugoslavia Canada Hungary Cuba South Korea Australia |
| Total | | | 6 | |
* $^a$ Withdrew from the tournament.
* $^b$ Replaced the Soviet Union.
* $^c$ Replaced the Soviet Union and Hungary.

## Format

Men's tournament:
* Two groups of six teams are formed, where the top four from each group advance to the knockout stage.
* Fifth and sixth places from each group form an additional bracket to decide 9th–12th places in the final ranking.
* In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1.
** The four teams eliminated from the quarterfinals form an additional bracket to decide 5th–8th places in the final ranking.
* The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals.
* The winning teams from the semifinals contest the gold medal. The losing teams contest the bronze.
Women's tournament:
* One round-robin group is formed containing all six teams, where the top two compete for the gold medal, while the third and fourth places compete for the bronze medal in an additional match.
* The remaining two teams finish with their group rank in the final standings.
Tie-breaking criteria:
* Head to head results
* Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
* Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group

## Men's tournament
### Preliminary round

The top four places in each of the preliminary round groups advanced to the eight team, single-elimination knockout stage, where Group A teams would meet Group B teams. Both hosts United States and reigning Olympic Champions Yugoslavia advanced undefeated to the knockout phase. China, Egypt, Brazil, and France placed fifth and sixth in their respective groups and competed in the classification round.

#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 457 | 366 | +91 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Italy | 5 | 4 | 1 | 437 | 363 | +74 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 383 | 403 | −20 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | West Germany | 5 | 2 | 3 | 384 | 376 | +8 | 7 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Brazil | 5 | 1 | 4 | 401 | 423 | −22 | 6 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Egypt | 5 | 0 | 5 | 349 | 480 | −131 | 5 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 29 July 1984
| Italy | 110–62 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 56–31, 54–31 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 29 July 1984
| Yugoslavia | 96–83 | West Germany |
| Scoring by half: 49–41, 47–42 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 29 July 1984
| Australia | 76–72 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 34–38, 42–34 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 30 July 1984
| Italy | 80–72 | West Germany |
| Scoring by half: 33–39, 47–33 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 30 July 1984
| Brazil | 91–82 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 45–43, 46–39 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 30 July 1984
| Yugoslavia | 94–64 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 39–28, 55–36 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| Australia | 67–66 | West Germany |
| Scoring by half: 31–36, 36–30 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| Yugoslavia | 100–69 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 56–31, 55–36 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| Italy | 89–78 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 43–44, 46–34 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| West Germany | 85–58 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 40–24, 45–34 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| Yugoslavia | 98–85 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 55–50, 43–35 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| Italy | 93–82 | Australia |
| Scoring by half: 48–48, 45–34 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| Australia | 94–78 | Egypt |
| Scoring by half: 38–37, 56–41 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| West Germany | 78–75 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half: 41–37, 37–38 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| Yugoslavia | 69–65 | Italy |
| Scoring by half: 34–28, 35–37 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 511 | 315 | +196 | 10 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 457 | 438 | +19 | 9 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Canada | 5 | 3 | 2 | 462 | 401 | +61 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Uruguay | 5 | 2 | 3 | 403 | 460 | −57 | 7 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | China | 5 | 1 | 4 | 364 | 477 | −113 | 6 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | France | 5 | 0 | 5 | 383 | 489 | −106 | 5 | 9th–12th classification round |
* 29 July 1984
| Uruguay | 91–87 (OT) | France |
| Scoring by half: 35–41, 38–32 Overtime: 18–14 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 29 July 1984
| United States | 97–49 | China |
| Scoring by half: 50–29, 47–20 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 29 July 1984
| Spain | 83–82 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 45–40, 38–42 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| China | 85–83 | France |
| Scoring by half: 39–48, 46–35 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| United States | 89–68 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 43–28, 46–40 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| Uruguay | 90–107 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 43–58, 47–49 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| China | 80–121 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 32–59, 48–62 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| United States | 104–68 | Uruguay |
| Scoring by half: 58–37, 46–31 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 1 August 1984
| France | 82–97 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 47–58, 35–39 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| China | 83–102 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 38–50, 45–52 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| United States | 120–62 | France |
| Scoring by half: 57–25, 63–37 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| Canada | 95–80 | Uruguay |
| Scoring by half: 46–47, 49–33 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| United States | 101–68 | Spain |
| Scoring by half: 46–41, 55–27 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| Canada | 96–69 | France |
| Scoring by half: 40–31, 56–38 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 4 August 1984
| China | 67–74 | Uruguay |
| Scoring by half: 24–37, 43–37 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California

### Knockout stage
#### Championship bracket

| Quarterfinals (August 6) | Quarterfinals (August 6) | Quarterfinals (August 6) | Semifinals (August 8) | Semifinals (August 8) | Semifinals (August 8) | Gold medal (August 10) | Gold medal (August 10) | Gold medal (August 10) |
| A1 | Yugoslavia | 110 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Uruguay | 82 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Uruguay | 82 | A1 | Yugoslavia | 61 | | | |
| | | | B2 | Spain | 74 | | | |
| B2 | Spain | 101 | B2 | Spain | 74 | | | |
| A3 | Australia | 93 | | | | | | |
| A3 | Australia | 93 | | | | B2 | Spain | 65 |
| | | | | | | B1 | United States | 96 |
| B1 | United States | 78 | | | | | | | B1 | United States | 96 |
| A4 | West Germany | 67 | | | |
| A4 | West Germany | 67 | B1 | United States | 78 | Bronze medal (August 9) | Bronze medal (August 9) | Bronze medal (August 9) |
| | | | B3 | Canada | 59 |
| A2 | Italy | 72 | B3 | Canada | 59 | A1 | Yugoslavia | 88 |
| B3 | Canada | 78 | | | | B3 | Canada | 82 |

#### Classification brackets

5th–8th Place
| August 8 | August 8 | August 8 | 5th place (August 10) | 5th place (August 10) | 5th place (August 10) |
| A3 | Australia | 95 | | | |
| B4 | Uruguay | 101 | | | |
| B4 | Uruguay | 101 | B4 | Uruguay | 102 |
| | | | A2 | Italy | 111 |
| A2 | Italy | 98 | A2 | Italy | 111 |
| A4 | West Germany | 71 | 7th place (August 10) | 7th place (August 10) | 7th place (August 10) |
| | | | A3 | Australia | 83 |
| | | | A4 | West Germany | 78 |
9th–12th Place
| August 5 | August 5 | August 5 | 9th place (August 10) | 9th place (August 10) | 9th place (August 10) |
| A5 | Brazil | 100 | | | |
| B6 | France | 86 | | | |
| B6 | France | 86 | A5 | Brazil | 86 |
| | | | B5 | China | 76 |
| B5 | China | 76 | B5 | China | 76 |
| A6 | Egypt | 73 | 11th place (August 9) | 11th place (August 9) | 11th place (August 9) |
| | | | B6 | France | 102 |
| | | | A6 | Egypt | 78 |

## Women's tournament
### Preliminary round

The first two places in the preliminary group compete for the gold medal, while the third and fourth places compete for the bronze. The remaining teams' group ranking determines their positions in the final standings. With the withdrawal of the Soviet Union's women's team, a new Olympic champion was to be crowned in Los Angeles. The host nation's team went through the first round undefeated and won their first gold medal against South Korea, one of the teams invited to replace the Soviet Union and Hungary. China, the other Asian representative, earned a bronze medal by defeating Canada. Yugoslavia's team couldn't repeat their bronze medal performance from the previous tournament and finished at the bottom of the rankings.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 431 | 265 | +166 | 10 | Gold medal game |
| 2 | South Korea | 5 | 4 | 1 | 292 | 302 | −10 | 9 | Gold medal game |
| 3 | Canada | 5 | 2 | 3 | 313 | 335 | −22 | 7 | Bronze medal game |
| 4 | China | 5 | 2 | 3 | 318 | 348 | −30 | 7 | Bronze medal game |
| 5 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 267 | 317 | −50 | 6 | |
| 6 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 293 | 347 | −54 | 6 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Canada 1–0 China
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Australia 1–0 Yugoslavia
* 30 July 1984
| Yugoslavia | 55–83 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 29–43, 26–40 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 30 July 1984
| Australia | 64–67 | China |
| Scoring by half: 22–28, 42–39 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 30 July 1984
| South Korea | 67–62 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 34–32, 33–30 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| Australia | 47–81 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 28–51, 19–30 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| Yugoslavia | 52–55 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 24–27, 28–28 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 31 July 1984
| China | 61–66 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 33–35, 28–31 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| Australia | 45–56 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 18–30, 28–26 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| United States | 84–47 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 40–20, 44–27 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 2 August 1984
| China | 79–58 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 34–28, 45–30 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| Australia | 48–54 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 19–26, 29–28 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| Canada | 68–69 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 33–34, 35–35 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 3 August 1984
| China | 55–91 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 26–38, 29–53 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 5 August 1984
| South Korea | 69–56 | China |
| Scoring by half: 34–25, 35–31 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 5 August 1984
| Canada | 61–92 | United States |
| Scoring by half: 31–41, 30–51 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California
* 5 August 1984
| Australia | 62–59 | Yugoslavia |
| Scoring by half: 25–31, 37–28 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California

### Bronze medal game

* 7 August 1984
| China | 63–57 | Canada |
| Scoring by half: 37–29, 26–28 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California

### Gold medal game

* 7 August 1984
| United States | 85–55 | South Korea |
| Scoring by half: 42–27, 43–28 |||
* The Forum, Inglewood, California

## Final standings

| Rank | Men | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women | Women |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | L | Team | Pld | W | L |
| | United States | 8 | 8 | 0 | United States | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| | Spain | 8 | 6 | 2 | South Korea | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| | Yugoslavia | 8 | 7 | 1 | China | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 4th | Canada | 8 | 4 | 4 | Canada | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Eliminated at the quarterfinals | Eliminated at the quarterfinals | Eliminated at the quarterfinals | Eliminated at the quarterfinals | Eliminated at the quarterfinals | | | | |
| 5th | Italy | 8 | 6 | 2 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 6th | Uruguay | 8 | 3 | 5 | Yugoslavia | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 7th | Australia | 8 | 4 | 4 | | | | |
| 8th | West Germany | 8 | 2 | 6 | | | | |
| Preliminary round 5th placers | Preliminary round 5th placers | Preliminary round 5th placers | Preliminary round 5th placers | Preliminary round 5th placers | | | | |
| 9th | Brazil | 7 | 3 | 4 | | | | |
| 10th | China | 7 | 2 | 5 | | | | |
| Preliminary round 6th placers | Preliminary round 6th placers | Preliminary round 6th placers | Preliminary round 6th placers | Preliminary round 6th placers | | | | |
| 11th | France | 7 | 1 | 6 | | | | |
| 12th | Egypt | 7 | 0 | 7 | | | | |