| Date | 15 – 28 August 2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Kleisto Gipedo, Olympiako Syngrotima Ellenikou, Hellinikon / Olympiako Kleisto Gymnastirio, Olympiako Athletiko Kentro Athinon Spiros Loues, Maroussi | |
| Participants | 144 from 12 countries | |
| Format | Round-robin pools advance teams to classification matches. | |
The United States entered the 2004 Olympic basketball tournament as the favorite based only on past reputation. But at the 2002 World Championships, the US team had finished only 6th, despite playing with NBA players. At the Olympics, the United States lost two preliminary games in Group B to Lithuania and Puerto Rico. The Groups were led by undefeated Lithuania with Spain winning all its games in Group A. The United States was drawn against Spain in the quarter-finals, and did win, but only by 102-94.
The semi-final match-ups saw Italy defeat Lithuania 100-96, while the United States faced Argentina, which had advanced against Greece in a close game. In the semi-finals, the Argentines, led by NBA players Manu Ginóbili, Andrés Nocioni, and Walter Herrmann, beat the USA, 89-81, but the game was really not that close. In the final, Argentina won the gold medal, 84-68, over Italy. The USA did win the bronze medal, defeating Lithuania in that game, 104-96.
| Date | 15 – 23 August 2004 |
|---|
| Date | 15 – 23 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Round-robin pools. |
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | ESP | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 405-349 | ||
| 2 | Italy | ITA | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 371-341 | ||
| 3 | Argentina | ARG | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 414-396 | ||
| 4 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 303-382 | ||
| 5 | New Zealand | NZL | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 399-413 | ||
| 6 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 377-388 |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug 9:00 | Italy | ITA | 71 – 69 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug 14:30 | Spain | ESP | 83 – 58 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug 20:00 | Argentina | ARG | 83 – 82 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | |
| Match #4 | 17 Aug 9:00 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 69 – 62 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #5 | 17 Aug 14:30 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | 74 – 72 | Italy | ITA | |
| Match #6 | 17 Aug 20:00 | Spain | ESP | 87 – 76 | Argentina | ARG | |
| Match #7 | 19 Aug 9:00 | New Zealand | NZL | 90 – 87 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | |
| Match #8 | 19 Aug 14:30 | Spain | ESP | 71 – 63 | Italy | ITA | |
| Match #9 | 19 Aug 20:00 | Argentina | ARG | 82 – 57 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #10 | 21 Aug 9:00 | Spain | ESP | 76 – 68 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | |
| Match #11 | 21 Aug 14:30 | Argentina | ARG | 98 – 94 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #12 | 21 Aug 20:00 | Italy | ITA | 89 – 52 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #13 | 23 Aug 9:00 | Spain | ESP | 88 – 84 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #14 | 23 Aug 14:30 | People's Republic of China | CHN | 67 – 66 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | |
| Match #15 | 23 Aug 20:00 | Italy | ITA | 76 – 75 | Argentina | ARG |
| Date | 15 – 23 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Round-robin pools. |
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lithuania | LTU | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 468-414 | ||
| 2 | Greece | GRE | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 389-343 | ||
| 3 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 410-411 | ||
| 4 | United States | USA | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 418-389 | ||
| 5 | Australia | AUS | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 383-411 | ||
| 6 | Angola | ANG | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 321-421 |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug 11:15 | Lithuania | LTU | 78 – 73 | Angola | ANG | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug 16:45 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 92 – 73 | United States | USA | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug 22:15 | Greece | GRE | 76 – 54 | Australia | AUS | |
| Match #4 | 17 Aug 11:15 | Australia | AUS | 83 – 59 | Angola | ANG | |
| Match #5 | 17 Aug 16:45 | Lithuania | LTU | 98 – 90 | Puerto Rico | PUR | |
| Match #6 | 17 Aug 22:15 | United States | USA | 77 – 71 | Greece | GRE | |
| Match #7 | 19 Aug 11:15 | United States | USA | 89 – 79 | Australia | AUS | |
| Match #8 | 19 Aug 16:45 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 83 – 80 | Angola | ANG | |
| Match #9 | 19 Aug 22:15 | Lithuania | LTU | 98 – 76 | Greece | GRE | |
| Match #10 | 21 Aug 11:15 | Puerto Rico | PUR | 87 – 82 | Australia | AUS | |
| Match #11 | 21 Aug 16:45 | Lithuania | LTU | 94 – 90 | United States | USA | |
| Match #12 | 21 Aug 22:15 | Greece | GRE | 88 – 56 | Angola | ANG | |
| Match #13 | 23 Aug 11:15 | Lithuania | LTU | 100 – 85 | Australia | AUS | |
| Match #14 | 23 Aug 16:45 | United States | USA | 89 – 53 | Angola | ANG | |
| Match #15 | 23 Aug 22:15 | Greece | GRE | 78 – 58 | Puerto Rico | PUR |
| Date | 26 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Single-elimination. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 26 Aug 14:30 | Italy | ITA | 83 – 70 | Puerto Rico | PUR | |
| Match #2 | 26 Aug 16:45 | Lithuania | LTU | 95 – 75 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match #3 | 26 Aug 20:00 | Argentina | ARG | 69 – 64 | Greece | GRE | |
| Match #4 | 26 Aug 22:15 | United States | USA | 102 – 94 | Spain | ESP |
| Date | 27 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Single-elimination. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 27 Aug 20:00 | Italy | ITA | 100 – 91 | Lithuania | LTU | |
| Match #2 | 27 Aug 22:15 | Argentina | ARG | 89 – 81 | United States | USA |
| Date | 24 – 28 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Medal round. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 28 Aug 22:30 | Argentina | ARG | 84 – 69 | Italy | ITA | |
| Match 3/4 | 28 Aug 20:00 | United States | USA | 104 – 96 | Lithuania | LTU | |
| Match 5/6 | 28 Aug 11:15 | Greece | GRE | 85 – 75 | Puerto Rico | PUR | |
| Match 7/8 | 28 Aug 9:00 | Spain | ESP | 92 – 76 | People's Republic of China | CHN | |
| Match 9/10 | 24 Aug 16:45 | Australia | AUS | 98 – 80 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match 11/12 | 24 Aug 14:30 | Serbia and Montenegro | SCG | 85 – 62 | Angola | ANG |