History
U.S. teams demonstrated basketball at the Olympics in 1904, 1924, and 1928. When the game became an official Olympic sport in 1932, its inventor, James Naismith, was given the honor of tossing the opening jump ball for the first game.
The United States completely dominated Olympic basketball competition through 1964, winning 54 consecutive games, often by as many as 50 or 60 points.
In 1968, though, most of the top college players passed up the Olympic trials because they didn't want to jeopardize their professional careers, and Yugoslavia was generally favored to win the gold medal over the young, little-known U. S. team. However, the Americans extended the winning streak to 63 games, beating Yugoslavia, 65-50, for the championship.
The streak went to 71 games in 1972, but it ended in the Gold Medal game against the Soviet Union, amidst much furore. The U. S. led, 50-49, with three seconds to play. Inbounding the ball from under their own basket, the Soviets twice threw it the length of the court without scoring, but both times the officials ruled that the scoreboard clock had to be reset.
On the third try, the court-length pass succeeded and a Soviet player scored the winning basket. The U. S. appealed the decision but lost, and the team unanimously voted not to accept the silver medal.
During the next four Olympiads, the U. S. failed to win the Gold Medal twice--in 1980, when the country boycotted the Olympics because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and in 1988, when Russia claimed the gold and Yugoslavia the silver medal ahead of the U. S.
The situation changed dramatically in 1992, when the International Basketball Federation decided to allow professional players to take part in the Olympics. The U. S. "Dream Team," made up primarily of NBA stars, totally dominated competition once again, and "Dream Team II," though not quite as dominant, won with relative ease in 1996.
Women's basketball was added to the Olympic program in 1976. The Soviet Union won the first two Gold Medals, but since then the U. S. women have come on strong. Their championship at the Atlanta Games in 1996 greatly increased interest in women's basketball, which helped spur the establishment of two rival leagues.