Games of the XXXIth Olympiad -- 2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • August 6-21, 2016
Dominance on the basketball court was the expectation for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team heading into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and dominance was ultimately delivered as the U.S. men rolled to an 8-0 record and captured the Olympic gold medal with a sterling final performance.
The golden performance by the U.S. men continued the USA's legacy on the hardwood and marked a third consecutive Olympic Games that the Americans have won gold and their sixth in the last seven Olympics. In finishing 8-0, the men extended their Olympic winning streak to 25 games and now own an incredible all-time record of 138-5 in Olympic play.
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2016 U.S. RESULTS (8-0)
2016 OLYMPIC GAMES
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Featuring a roster that averaged 26.8 years of age, the 12-man 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team featured just two players - Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant - boasting of prior Olympic experience, while 10 players made their first appearance in the Summer Games including Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry and Klay Thompson.
Anthony at the age of 32 became America's first four-time Olympic male basketball player, and his four medals, which includes gold medal finishes in 2008, 2012 and 2016, are Olympic men's basketball records as well. In the U.S. Olympic men's career record book, Anthony finished the Rio Games ranked first in games played (31), points (336), field goals made (113), field goals attempted (262), rebounds (125), 3-point field goals attempted (139), free throws made (53) and free throws attempted (71); and second in 3-point field goals made (57). Durant became one of 19 two-time U.S. men's Olympians and one of 17 U.S. men to win two Olympic men's basketball gold medals.
The USA coaching staff was not short on Olympic experience or success. Leading the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal finish for the third-straight Summer Games were USA Basketball men’s national team managing director Jerry Colangelo, Duke University Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant coach Jim Boeheim, while assistants Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams rounded out the golden 2016 Olympic coaching staff.
The U.S. men got play preliminary play underway with two convincing wins, defeating China (119-62) and Venezuela (113-69) by a combined 101 points. Behind 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point the USA pounded China 119-62. Cousins had 17 points, George added 15 points and Irving finished with 12 points and five assists and overall, the USA had 31 assists on 38 field goals. Tied with Venezuela 18-18 after the first quarter, the U.S. blew the game open with a 24-4 second-quarter explosion and sailed on to a 113-69 win. George tallied 20 points to lead five U.S. players in double-digit scoring.
The USA's final three preliminary round games proved more challenging as the Americans battled to the final buzzer before earning victories over Australia (98-88), Serbia (94-91) and France (100-97) by a combined 16 points. It took the U.S. nearly all four quarters to pull away from previously unbeaten Australia and record a 98-88 win. The USA, which led by just five points, 85-80, with 3:57 remaining in the game, saw Anthony, who became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. men's Olympic history during the game, lead the USA with 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting from 3-point, and eight rebounds, and it was his ninth 3 that kicked off the USA's 13-8 closing run that helped secure the victory.
Despite an 18-point lead in the first quarter, the USA had to battle Serbia to the final horn before claiming a hard-fought 94-91 win. Featuring a balanced scoring effort that saw six players score in double-figures; Irving had 15 points and five assists; Jordan added 13 points; Anthony and Durant each contributed 12; George had 12 points and nine rebounds; and DeRozan finished with 11 points. Behind Thompson's 30 points that were fueled by seven made 3-pointers, the Americans held off a late rally by France to earn a 100-97 victory. Irving finished with 10 points and tied the U.S. Olympic game record for assists after passing out 12, while Durant shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and aided the USA cause with 17 points. The win, the USA's 22nd straight win in Olympic play, earned the Americans the number one seed for Goup A and quarterfinal play.
Advancing to the medal round quarterfinals, the red, white and blue found its groove and manhandled South America rival Argentina 105-78. Durant scored 13 of the USA's 25 first-quarter points, and led the way with 27 points, including 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point, while adding seven rebounds and six assists. George tallied 17 points and eight rebounds, Cousins added 15 points and Irving finished with 11 points.
The U.S., after defeating Spain in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medal games, faced its rival again, but in 2016 it came in the medal round semifinals. Leading the entire 40 minutes, the USA fought its way to an 82-76 win to advance to the gold medal game. The U.S. led 72-57 with 7:27 left, however, Spain closed the game by outscoring the USA 11-4, but the surge was too little too late. Thompson paced the USA offense with 22 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3, while Durant and Irving added 14 and 13 points, respectively. USA center Jordan collected a U.S. men's Olympic record-tying 16 rebounds to go with nine points and four blocked shots.
In a rematch versus Serbia in the gold medal contest, the U.S. quickly made it no contest and cruised to a 96-66 victory. Led by 30 points and four assists from Durant and dominating on both ends of the court, the USA outscored Serbia 33-14 in the second quarter to blow open the contest. The 30-point win was the largest margin of victory in an Olympic title game since the historic 1992 Dream Team defeated Croatia by 32 points.
In winning gold, the United States' 15th Olympic men's basketball gold medal, the U.S. averaged a hearty 100.9 points a game and posted an average margin of victory of 22.5 points per game. Among the 12-team tournament, the USA led all teams in points scored (807/100.9 ppg.), 3-point percentage (.369), rebounds averaged (.45.5), steals (70), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.286) and blocked shots (28); was second in assists (192); and was third in field goal percentage (.471) and field goal percentage defense (.429).
Durant paced the U.S. offense averaging 19.4 points a game, Anthony added 12.1 points, and rounding out the USA';s double digit scorers were Irving, 11.4 points, and George, 11.3 points.
2016 USA MEN'S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER
NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | AFFILIATION (SCHOOL) | |
Carmelo Anthony | F | 6-8 | 230 | 32 | New York Knicks (Syracuse) | |
Harrison Barnes | F | 6-8 | 235 | 24 | Dallas Mavericks (North Carolina) | |
Jimmy Butler | G | 6-7 | 220 | 26 | Chicago Bulls (Marquette) | |
DeMarcus Cousins | C | 6-11 | 270 | 25 | Sacramento Kings (Kentucky) | |
DeMar DeRozan | G | 6-7 | 216 | 26 | Toronto Raptors (USC) | |
Kevin Durant | G | 6-9 | 240 | 27 | Golden State Warriors (Texas) | |
Paul George | G | 6-8 | 221 | 26 | Indiana Pacers (Fresno State) | |
Draymond Green | F | 6-7 | 223 | 26 | Golden State Warriora (Michigan State) | |
Kyrie Irving | G | 6-3 | 191 | 24 | Cleveland Cavaliers (Duke) | |
DeAndre Jordan | C | 6-11 | 265 | 27 | Los Angeles Clippers (Texas A&M) | |
Kyle Lowry | G | 6-1 | 205 | 30 | Toronto Raptors (Villanova) | |
Klay Thompson | G | 6-7 | 215 | 26 | Golden State Warriors (Washington State) | |
HEAD COACH: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University | ||||||
ASSISTANT COACH: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University | ||||||
ASSISTANT COACH: Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota Timberwolves | ||||||
ASSISTANT COACH: Monty Williams | ||||||
TEAM PHYSICIAN: Lisa Callahan, Hospital for Special Surgery/New York Knicks |
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ATHLETIC TRAINER: Gregg Farnam, Minnesota Timberwolves | ||||||
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Joseph Sharpe, Oklahoma City Thunder |
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USA BASKETBALL MANAGING DIRECTOR: Jerry Colangelo |
2016 USA MEN'S OLYMPIC TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
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G/S | FGM-A | PCT | 3PM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB | PTS | AT | BK | ST |
Durant | 8/8 | 52- 90 | .578 | 25-43 | .581 | 26-32 | .813 | 40/ 5.0 | 155/ 19.4 | 28 | 4 | 8 |
Anthony | 8/8 | 33- 84 | .393 | 18-45 | .400 | 13-21 | .619 | 42/ 5.3 | 97/ 12.1 | 18 | 2 | 5 |
Irving | 8/8 | 31- 65 | .477 | 9-24 | .375 | 20-22 | .909 | 20/ 2.5 | 91/ 11.4 | 39 | 0 | 3 |
George | 8/2 | 32- 70 | .457 | 8-28 | .286 | 18-21 | .857 | 36/ 4.5 | 90/ 11.3 | 15 | 5 | 12 |
Thompson | 8/6 | 28- 77 | .363 | 16-49 | .327 | 7-9 | .778 | 20/ 2.5 | 79/ 9.9 | 13 | 2 | 6 |
Cousins | 8/5 | 27- 44 | .614 | 0-0 | .--- | 19-23 | .826 | 46/ 5.8 | 73/ 9.1 | 13 | 3 | 4 |
Jordan | 8/3 | 23- 31 | .742 | 0-0 | .--- | 13-32 | .406 | 49/ 6.1 | 59/ 7.4 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
DeRozan | 7/0 | 16- 27 | .593 | 0-2 | .000 | 14-18 | .778 | 10/ 1.4 | 46/ 6.6 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
Butler | 8/0 | 13- 38 | .342 | 2-9 | .222 | 17-18 | .944 | 20/ 2.5 | 45/ 5.6 | 11 | 1 | 6 |
Lowry | 8/0 | 12- 29 | .414 | 3-11 | .273 | 13-17 | .765 | 26/ 3.3 | 40/ 5.0 | 30 | 0 | 7 |
Barnes | 4/0 | 6- 13 | .462 | 1-3 | .333 | 4-4 | 1.000 | 7/ 1.8 | 17/ 4.3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Green | 8/0 | 5- 22 | .227 | 1-11 | .090 | 4-7 | .571 | 17/ 2.1 | 15/ 1.9 | 10 | 1 | 7 |
USA | 8 | 278-590 | .471 | 83-225 | .369 | 168-224 | .750 | 364/45.5 | 807/100.9 | 192 | 28 | 70 |
OPP. | 8 | 231-538 | .429 | 52-182 | .286 | 113-147 | .769 | 284/35.5 | 627/ 78.4 | 160 | 16 | 55 |