2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
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The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics were delayed a year until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It was the fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the Americans. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by finishing as one of the top two teams from the Americas at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019.[2]
| Head coach | Gregg Popovich |
|---|---|
| 2020 Summer Olympics |  |
| Scoring leader | Kevin Durant 20.7 |
| Rebounding leader | Bam Adebayo 5.7 |
| Assists leader | Jrue Holiday 3.8 |
2024 → | |
The U.S. saw two Olympic gold medal winners in Kevin Durant (2012, 2016) and Draymond Green (2016) return, while 10 other players made their Olympic debuts. Unlike the 2019 World Cup team that finished in seventh place with a team of traditional centers and limited shooting, the Olympic team featured multi-positional players and adept shooters.[3] After the disappointing World Cup, in which only four of the initial 35 candidates were on the final roster,[4] star players began openly expressing an interest in joining the Olympic team.[5][6] While other countries had a core roster that has played together for years in multiple international tournaments, the U.S. team changed every year.[7][8][9]
Complicating the decision for National Basketball Association (NBA) players to commit to the Olympics was the pandemic's impact on the league's schedule. The 2020 NBA Finals did not end until October 11, 2020.[10] Although the start of the 2020–21 NBA season was delayed,[11] it still began 71 days after the prior Finals, as opposed to the usual 100 days or more.[1] The season was condensed with many back-to-back games.[10] While the 2021 Finals were scheduled to allow players time to travel to Tokyo,[12] the playoffs were ongoing while other countries were practicing.[11] The delayed season cut into Team USA's time to gel and learn to play as a team.[13] Moreover, three team members played in the Finals, which did not conclude until July 20, and they missed all of training camp and the pre-Olympic exhibitions in Las Vegas.[10][14] The United States played their first game in the Olympics on July 25.[14]