# 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team
The 2020 United States men's Olympic basketball team was the 12-player squad fielded by USA Basketball at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where it won the men's basketball tournament and a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, defeating France 87-82 in the final at [Saitama Super Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/saitama-super-arena).[1](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-team-usa-win-fourth-straight-gold-as-france-take-silver-and-australia-bronze-at-the-tokyo-2020-mens-olympic-basketball-tournament) The Games, postponed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic, were played in July and August 2021.[2](https://www.nba.com/news/kevin-durant-leads-team-usa-to-4th-consecutive-gold-medal) The team lost its Olympic opener to France, 83-76, the first Olympic defeat for a U.S. men's team since 2004, before winning six straight games to take the title.[3](https://time.com/6083652/team-usa-basketball-france-loss/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Result | Gold medal, fourth consecutive U.S. men's Olympic title; France took silver and Australia bronze[1](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-team-usa-win-fourth-straight-gold-as-france-take-silver-and-australia-bronze-at-the-tokyo-2020-mens-olympic-basketball-tournament) |
| Gold medal game | United States 87, France 82, at Saitama Super Arena on August 7, 2021[1](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-team-usa-win-fourth-straight-gold-as-france-take-silver-and-australia-bronze-at-the-tokyo-2020-mens-olympic-basketball-tournament) |
| Leading player | Kevin Durant, tournament MVP, scored 29 points in the final and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only three-time men's Olympic gold medalists[4](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-kevin-durant-wins-the-mvp-award-of-the-men-s-olympic-basketball-tournament-in-tokyo) • [2](https://www.nba.com/news/kevin-durant-leads-team-usa-to-4th-consecutive-gold-medal) |
| Head coach | Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, with assistants Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, and Jay Wright; Jerry Colangelo served as managing director[5](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) |
| Roster changes | Bradley Beal and Kevin Love did not participate; Keldon Johnson and JaVale McGee replaced them[5](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) |
| Notable setback | An 83-76 loss to France in the opener, the first U.S. men's Olympic loss since 2004[3](https://time.com/6083652/team-usa-basketball-france-loss/) |
| Final margin | Five points, the closest U.S. gold medal game margin since the 1972 Olympics[6](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/mens-olympic-basketball-tournament-paris-2024/news/team-profile-four-nba-mvps-seven-nba-champs-in-the-same-locker-room) |
## Roster and selection
USA [Basketball](https://www.edgepedia.org/basketball) announced the official 12-member roster on June 28, 2021, selected from a 57-player pool. The initial group comprised [Bam Adebayo](https://www.edgepedia.org/bam-adebayo), Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Jerami Grant, Draymond Green, Jrue Holiday, Zach LaVine, Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, Khris Middleton, and [Jayson Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayson-tatum).[5](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) James Harden, who had briefly committed, withdrew because of a hamstring injury, and Zach LaVine and Jerami Grant accepted invitations to complete the roster.[7](https://api-hub.nba.com/news/report-jerami-grant-zach-lavine-accept-olympic-bid-roster-to-12)
**Late changes.** Beal was placed into health and safety protocols during the Las Vegas training camp on July 15, 2021, and was ruled out of the Olympics; Grant was also placed into protocols out of caution, and the team's exhibition game against Australia scheduled for that Friday was canceled.[8](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-says-bradley-beal-will-miss-tokyo-olympics) Beal and Love ultimately did not participate, and [Keldon Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/keldon-johnson) and [JaVale McGee](https://www.edgepedia.org/javale-mcgee) were named as their replacements.[5](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) Three players, Holiday, Middleton, and Booker, arrived in Tokyo at 1 a.m. on the morning of the first Olympic game after playing in the [NBA Finals](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-finals).[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/)
## Pre-tournament struggles
The team lost exhibition games to Nigeria, 90-87, and Australia, 91-83, in Las Vegas, becoming the first U.S. men's team with NBA professionals to lose back-to-back exhibition games since professionals began playing in 1992.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/14/team-usa-basketball-olympics-roster/) Before those two defeats the squad held a 54-2 record in exhibitions.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/14/team-usa-basketball-olympics-roster/) Analysts noted the roster was thinner than its predecessors: [Kevin Durant](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-durant)'s 6.8 box score plus-minus led the team, the lowest figure for a top U.S. Olympic player since [Gary Payton](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-payton)'s 6.5 in 2000, and the roster as a whole projected seventh of the eight U.S. teams since the 1992 Dream Team.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/14/team-usa-basketball-olympics-roster/)
## Tournament
In the opening [Group A](https://www.edgepedia.org/group-a) game on July 25, France beat the United States 83-76. [Evan Fournier](https://www.edgepedia.org/evan-fournier) led France with 28 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute, and the Americans missed open shots from Durant, Zach LaVine, and [Jrue Holiday](https://www.edgepedia.org/jrue-holiday) down the stretch.[3](https://time.com/6083652/team-usa-basketball-france-loss/) The loss ended a 25-game U.S. Olympic winning streak dating to 2004.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/the-dream-team-days-are-long-gone-for-usa-olympic-basketball) After the game, coach Gregg Popovich rejected the framing that the result was an upset, pointing to France's NBA players and years of playing together.[3](https://time.com/6083652/team-usa-basketball-france-loss/)
**Recovery.** The United States then won four consecutive games to reach the final: 120-66 over Iran, 119-84 over the Czech Republic, 95-81 over Spain in the quarterfinals, and 97-78 over Australia in the semifinals.[12](https://www.teamusa.com/news/2021/august/06/led-by-kevin-durant-us-mens-basketball-team-routs-france-to-win-fourth-straight-olympic-gold) After the opening loss the team held a players-only meeting without Popovich, which Durant later credited with helping the group come together.[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/)
## Gold medal game
France entered the final having won its two previous meetings with the United States, having eliminated the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2019 [FIBA Basketball World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiba-basketball-world-cup) and beaten them in the Tokyo group phase.[1](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-team-usa-win-fourth-straight-gold-as-france-take-silver-and-australia-bronze-at-the-tokyo-2020-mens-olympic-basketball-tournament) In the final on August 7, 2021, Durant scored 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 21 in the first half, as the United States built a 44-39 halftime lead and led by as many as 14 points before France cut the deficit to 85-82 with 10 seconds left; Durant was fouled and made both free throws to clinch the 87-82 win.[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/) Jayson Tatum added 19 points, and Holiday set a defensive tone that held Fournier to 5-of-15 shooting.[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/) Holiday and Middleton became the fifth and sixth players ever to win an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal in the same year.[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/)
The five-point margin was the closest in a U.S. men's Olympic gold medal game since the 1972 final between the United States and the Soviet Union, which ended 51-50.[6](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/mens-olympic-basketball-tournament-paris-2024/news/team-profile-four-nba-mvps-seven-nba-champs-in-the-same-locker-room) For France, Tokyo 2020 was the third Olympic final, all against the United States, all ending with silver.[13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YSrNfcKvA0)
## Durant and legacy
Durant was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and, with the title, joined [Carmelo Anthony](https://www.edgepedia.org/carmelo-anthony) as the only three-time men's gold medalists in Olympic basketball history; he is also the leading scorer in the history of the U.S. men's Olympic program.[4](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-kevin-durant-wins-the-mvp-award-of-the-men-s-olympic-basketball-tournament-in-tokyo) • [2](https://www.nba.com/news/kevin-durant-leads-team-usa-to-4th-consecutive-gold-medal) The gold medal was the fourth consecutive for the U.S. men following the 2008, 2012, and 2016 titles, a run that followed the bronze medal finish at the 2004 Athens Games and the subsequent overhaul of the selection process.[9](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/) The narrow margins in Tokyo, an opening loss, and pre-tournament defeats were widely read as evidence that international competition had closed the gap with the United States, whose roster that summer lacked several top American players including [LeBron James](https://www.edgepedia.org/lebron-james), Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/the-dream-team-days-are-long-gone-for-usa-olympic-basketball)
## References
1. [Team USA win fourth straight gold as France take silver and Australia bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament, FIBA](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-team-usa-win-fourth-straight-gold-as-france-take-silver-and-australia-bronze-at-the-tokyo-2020-mens-olympic-basketball-tournament)
2. [Golden again! Kevin Durant leads Team USA to 4th consecutive Olympic title, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/kevin-durant-leads-team-usa-to-4th-consecutive-gold-medal)
3. [Team USA Men's Basketball Just Lost Its First Olympic Game Since 2004, TIME](https://time.com/6083652/team-usa-basketball-france-loss/)
4. [Kevin Durant takes MVP honors from the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament in Tokyo, FIBA](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/olympics-men-2020-news-kevin-durant-wins-the-mvp-award-of-the-men-s-olympic-basketball-tournament-in-tokyo)
5. [USA Basketball announces Olympic team roster, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster?ftag=YHF4eb9d17)
6. [Team Profile: Four NBA MVPs, seven NBA champs in the same locker room, FIBA Paris 2024](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/mens-olympic-basketball-tournament-paris-2024/news/team-profile-four-nba-mvps-seven-nba-champs-in-the-same-locker-room)
7. [Report: Team USA roster set as Harden pulls out; Jerami Grant, Zach LaVine accept invites, NBA.com](https://api-hub.nba.com/news/report-jerami-grant-zach-lavine-accept-olympic-bid-roster-to-12)
8. [USA Basketball says Bradley Beal will miss Tokyo Olympics, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-says-bradley-beal-will-miss-tokyo-olympics)
9. [This Was No Team USA Men's Basketball Dream Team. But In Tokyo, It Demands Our Respect, TIME](https://time.com/6088368/usa-basketball-olympics-mens-gold/)
10. [Team USA's 2021 Olympic men's basketball team doesn't compare to past rosters, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/14/team-usa-basketball-olympics-roster/)
11. [The Dream Team days are long gone for USA Olympic basketball, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/26/the-dream-team-days-are-long-gone-for-usa-olympic-basketball)
12. [Led By Kevin Durant, U.S. Men's Basketball Team Routs France To Win Fourth-Straight Olympic Gold, TeamUSA.com](https://www.teamusa.com/news/2021/august/06/led-by-kevin-durant-us-mens-basketball-team-routs-france-to-win-fourth-straight-olympic-gold)
13. [France vs USA, Men's Basketball Gold Medal Match, Tokyo Replays, Olympic Games on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YSrNfcKvA0)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › International and FIBA basketball (including 3x3 and Olympic basketball)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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