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. 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.

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. After the disappointing World Cup, in which only four of the initial 35 candidates were on the final roster, star players began openly expressing an interest in joining the Olympic team. While other countries had a core roster that has played together for years in multiple international tournaments, the U.S. team changed every year.

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. Although the start of the 2020–21 NBA season was delayed, it still began 71 days after the prior Finals, as opposed to the usual 100 days or more. The season was condensed with many back-to-back games. While the 2021 Finals were scheduled to allow players time to travel to Tokyo, the playoffs were ongoing while other countries were practicing. The delayed season cut into Team USA's time to gel and learn to play as a team. 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. The United States played their first game in the Olympics on July 25.

Timeline February 10, 2020: 44 roster finalists announced March 30: Olympics postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic March 11, 2021: Player pool expanded to 57 May 22 Start of NBA playoffs June 28: Initial 12-man roster named July 6: Start of training camp July 10–18: Exhibition games July 19 Initial flight to Tokyo July 20 End of NBA Finals July 25 – August 7: 2020 Summer Olympics

Roster

The United States was coached by Gregg Popovich, who had won five NBA championships as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He made his head coaching debut for Team USA on the 2019 World Cup team in China. In February 2020, USA Basketball announced an initial list of 44 finalists for the 2020 Summer Olympics, originally scheduled for July–Aug 2020. After the Games were postponed until 2021, the list of finalists was expanded to 57 to remain flexible. By the end of the 2020–21 NBA season, a number of All-Star level players were either injured or requiring extended recovery time for the upcoming season. Olympic training camp took place while the 2021 NBA playoffs were ongoing. No tryouts were held, with decisions on the final 12-man roster based in part on player health and availability.

An initial 12-man roster was named with a combined 37 NBA All-Star selections, led by Kevin Durant with 11. He entered the 2020 Games ranked second in U.S. men's Olympic basketball history with 311 career points, needing just 25 more to match Carmelo Anthony's record of 336. A two-time Olympic gold medalist from the 2012 and 2016 teams, Durant was joined on the squad by one other gold medal winner, his 2016 teammate Draymond Green, who he also played with on the Golden State Warriors. Also committing to the team were four of the NBA's top 10 scorers from the 2020–21 season with Bradley Beal (31.1 points per game), Damian Lillard (28.8), Zach LaVine (27.4) and Jayson Tatum (26.4). Six players on the roster were named All-Stars in 2021, but only two were among the past season's 15 selections to the All-NBA Team—Lillard (first team) and Beal (second team). While stocked with scorers, the original roster was limited in size; Bam Adebayo and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Love were the lone traditional interior players. The team also lacked a primary facilitating guard; when not leading a pick and roll, Lillard is primarily an isolation scorer. Alternatively, the United States could have used Durant as a point forward and utilize big men Green and Adebayo's playmaking skills. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns were named to the roster, but missed all of training camp and the exhibition games while playing in the 2021 NBA Finals. Middleton and Tatum were the only returnees from the 2019 World Cup team.

After playing in three exhibition games, Beal was ruled out for the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19. A starter in all three games, he was expected to be one of the team's primary scorers. Love also withdrew from the team, stating that he was not fully recovered from a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of the prior NBA season. They were replaced by JaVale McGee and Keldon Johnson. A journeyman, , shot-blocking center, McGee was a finalist for the Olympic team and has won three NBA championships, including two with Durant and Green on the Warriors. He helped to fill Team USA's need for size after being outrebounded during exhibition games. The second-year forward Johnson had been playing with the Olympic team as a member of the U.S. Select Team and had been with San Antonio for two seasons under Popovich. USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo stated that injuries and players' contract status, among other factors, impacted the roster decisions. "Some people say, ‘Well what about that guy?’ Well, there is a reason. You think we're stupid? We know who can play and who can't play", he said.

The following were also candidates to make the team: +Earlier candidatesPlayer NBA team Added Removed Reason Boston Celtics Injured Golden State Warriors Injured Brooklyn Nets Retired Miami Heat Injured Los Angeles Lakers Withdrew Los Angeles Lakers Injured Miami Heat Withdrew Golden State Warriors Withdrew Utah Jazz Injured Phoenix Suns Withdrew Brooklyn Nets Injured Toronto Raptors Withdrew Brooklyn Nets Injured Sacramento Kings Not named to 12-man roster Indiana Pacers Boston Celtics Utah Jazz San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Brooklyn Nets Philadelphia 76ers Charlotte Hornets Philadelphia 76ers New Orleans Pelicans Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Clippers Milwaukee Bucks Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers Boston Celtics Washington Wizards San Antonio Spurs Cleveland Cavaliers Houston Rockets Brooklyn Nets Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Miami Heat New York Knicks Toronto Raptors Houston Rockets New Orleans Pelicans Houston Rockets Atlanta Hawks Washington Wizards COVID-19 Cleveland Cavaliers Injured

Exhibition games With Booker, Holiday, and Middleton still playing in the NBA Finals, Team USA added seven players to the roster from the U.S. Select Team for the exhibition games: Saddiq Bey, Darius Garland, John Jenkins, Keldon Johnson, Josh Magette, Dakota Mathias and Cam Reynolds. The Americans began their exhibition schedule after four days of training camp. They played four games in eight days, with a fifth game cancelled because of coronavirus issues. Johnson was promoted to the Olympic team before the final exhibition game. The Americans did not play with the signature up-tempo style of the past three Olympic gold-medal teams under former coach Mike Krzyzewski. Their slower pace left the team, unfamiliar with each other after only six practices, dependent on reading and reacting to each other.

Nigeria

In their first game, the United States was upset 90–87 by Nigeria, the first win by an African team over the American men's team. The Nigerians played as a more cohesive unit after about three weeks of training. In their last two meetings, Team USA had beaten them by 83 points at the 2012 London Olympics and 44 points in an exhibition game prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Americans fell to 54–3 in major exhibitions games since 1992, when NBA players were first allowed to play for Team USA, with previous losses to Australia ahead of the 2019 World Cup and to Italy before the 2004 Olympics.

Australia

Team USA lost their second straight exhibition game 91–83 to Australia. It was the fourth loss in five games for the Americans dating back to the 2019 World Cup. The Americans held a 10-point lead in the second half, but they were held without a field goal in the last 4:34. The Boomers, who shot 53% from the field, were led by Patty Mills with 22 points and Joe Ingles with 17. The United States got 22 points from Damian Lillard and 17 from Kevin Durant.

Argentina

Durant and Bradley Beal both scored 17, and the Americans led throughout in a 108–80 win over Argentina. The United States jumped to a 15–4 lead almost minutes into the game, scoring 33 points in the first quarter while leading by as much as 17. They led 58–42 at halftime, and shot 51% for the game. Argentina was held to 31% shooting on 3-pointers, making 9 of 29. They were led by Luis Scola, who scored 16 points in 19 minutes.

Already missing three players to the NBA Finals, Team USA was down to eight Olympic players after Jayson Tatum was held out of the game due to a sore right knee. The win avoided the first U.S. three-game losing streak since NBA players were allowed on the national team.

Australia

A day before it was scheduled to be played, USA Basketball announced that their second game against Australia was canceled "out of an abundance of caution" after Beal and Jerami Grant had been placed on COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Beal, who tested positive, was also ruled out for the Olympics.

Spain

Lillard scored 19 points and newly promoted teammate Johnson had 15 in the United States' 83–76 win over Spain. Behind by as many as nine points in the first half, Team USA was down 46–42 in the third quarter when they scored 11 unanswered points in a 23–6 run that spanned into the fourth quarter. Johnson scored eight points during the spurt, including a dunk which excited the crowd. The Americans led 65–52 with 7:30 remaining, and Spain never got closer than seven points. The Spaniards were led by Ricky Rubio with 23 points.

Durant, Lillard, and LaVine made a combined nine 3-pointers. Johnson shot 7 of 9 and had a team-high plus–minus of plus-18. Grant returned to the team after being in health and safety protocols. Johnson had appeared in two previous exhibition games. JaVale McGee, who was added to the team with Johnson, was present but did not play.

Olympic play

After the final exhibition game against Spain, LaVine was placed into health and safety protocols, and did not travel with the rest of the team to Tokyo on July 19. He was later cleared and joined the team on July 22. The NBA Finals concluded in six games on July 20, with Milwaukee winning over Phoenix. Holiday and Middleton attended the Bucks' championship parade on July 22. They flew the next day to Seattle, where they took a private plane with Booker and arrived in Tokyo on July 24 before 11:00 pm JST (UTC+9), less than 24 hours before Team USA's opening game against France. The Americans lost to the French, but recovered to finish 2–1 in group play to advance to the knockout round.

Preliminary round The Olympics feature 12 nations divided into three groups of four. The United States was placed in Group A. Each team plays three games, one game each against the other teams in their group. The first- and second-place teams advance to the knockout stage, along with the top two third-place teams. The remaining four teams are eliminated.

All times are JST (UTC+9)

France