Basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament facts for kids
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | France |
| Dates | 28 July – 11 August |
| Teams | 12 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | Stade Pierre-Mauroy Accor Arena (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (10th title) |
| Runners-up |  France |
| Third place |  Australia |
| Fourth place |  Belgium |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 26 |
| Attendance | 508,060 (19,541 per match) |
| MVP | A'ja Wilson |
| Top scorer | Emma Meesseman (23.3 ppg) |
The women's 5x5 basketball tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics was a super exciting event! It was the 21st time women's basketball was played at the Summer Olympic Games. The games took place from July 28 to August 11, 2024. Early games were held at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. The final rounds were played at the Accor Arena in Paris.
The United States won the gold medal. They beat France in a thrilling final game. Australia earned the bronze medal by defeating Belgium. A famous player, Diana Taurasi from the USA team, made history. She became the only basketball player ever to win six Olympic gold medals! This is a huge achievement in sports.
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How the Tournament Worked
The tournament started with twelve teams. These teams were divided into three groups, with four teams in each group. Every team in a group played against each other once. This part of the tournament is called the "preliminary round."
After the preliminary round, the top two teams from each group moved on to the next stage. The two best third-placed teams also got to advance. These eight teams then played in the "quarterfinals." To decide who played whom, the teams were ranked based on their results. A special draw was held to pair them up. Teams from the same original group could not play each other again in the quarterfinals.
Game Schedule
Here is how the tournament schedule looked:
| G | Group stage | ¼ | Quarterfinals | ½ | Semifinals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Gold medal match |
| Sun 28 | Mon 29 | Tue 30 | Wed 31 | Thu 1 | Fri 2 | Sat 3 | Sun 4 | Mon 5 | Tue 6 | Wed 7 | Thu 8 | Fri 9 | Sat 10 | Sun 11 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | G | G | G | G | G | ¼ | ½ | B | F | ||||||
Teams That Played
To find out how teams qualified for the Olympics, you can check out this page:
| How They Qualified | Date | Where It Happened | Spots Given | Qualified Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | N/A | N/A | 1 | France |
| 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup | Sept 22 – Oct 1, 2022 | Sydney |
1 | United States |
| 2024 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments | Feb 8–11, 2024 |  Xi'an |
2 | China |
 Puerto Rico |
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| Antwerp |
2 | Belgium |
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 Nigeria |
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 Belém |
3 | Australia |
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 Germany |
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 Serbia |
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 Sopron |
3 |  Japan |
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 Spain |
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 Canada |
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| Total | 12 | |||
Team Rosters
Each team had 12 players on its roster. You can find more details about the players on this page:
The Draw for Groups
The draw to decide which teams were in which group happened on March 19, 2024. The 12 teams were placed into four "pots" based on their FIBA World Ranking. Each group was made by picking one team from each pot.
There were some special rules for the draw:
- Teams from the same continent usually couldn't be in the same group.
- However, up to two European teams could be in the same group.
- Also, the defending champions (USA) and the host country (France) were placed into specific groups (Group B or C) for TV reasons.
Team Seeding
The teams were ranked and placed into pots like this:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States China Australia |
Spain Canada Belgium |
France Japan Serbia |
Puerto Rico Nigeria Germany |
Preliminary Round Games
The preliminary round games were played in groups. Teams earned points for wins and losses. The top teams from each group moved on to the knockout stage.
Group A Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.
Group B Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.
Group C Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) head-to-head results; 3) head-to-head game points difference; 4) head-to-head number of game points scored.
Third-Placed Teams Ranking
The two best third-placed teams from all groups also moved on to the quarterfinals. Here's how they ranked:
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) classification points; 2) game points difference; 3) number of game points scored; 4) FIBA ranking.
Knockout Stage
After the preliminary games, the top eight teams entered the knockout stage. This means if a team lost, they were out of the tournament. A special draw decided the pairings for the quarterfinals. Teams were put into four "pots" based on their performance in the group stage.
- Pot D had the two best first-placed teams.
- Pot E had the third first-placed team and the best second-placed team.
- Pot F had the other second-placed teams.
- Pot G had the two best third-placed teams.
Teams from Pot D played against teams from Pot G. Teams from Pot E played against teams from Pot F. Teams that were in the same group during the preliminary round could not play each other again in the quarterfinals.
Ranking for Knockout Stage
Here's how the teams were ranked before the knockout stage:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points difference; 3) points scored.
Tournament Bracket
This bracket shows how the teams played in the knockout stage, leading up to the medal games:
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Gold medal | ||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| Germany |
71 | |||||||||
| 9 August | ||||||||||
| France |
84 | |||||||||
| France (OT) |
81 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| Belgium |
75 | |||||||||
| Spain |
66 | |||||||||
| 11 August | ||||||||||
| Belgium |
79 | |||||||||
| France |
66 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| United States |
67 | |||||||||
| Nigeria |
74 | |||||||||
| 9 August | ||||||||||
| United States |
88 | |||||||||
| United States |
85 | |||||||||
| 7 August | ||||||||||
| Australia |
64 | Bronze medal | ||||||||
| Serbia |
67 | |||||||||
| 11 August | ||||||||||
| Australia |
85 | |||||||||
| Belgium |
81 | |||||||||
| Australia |
85 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
On August 7, the quarterfinals took place.
- Australia beat Serbia 85-67.
- Belgium won against Spain 79-66.
- Host nation France defeated Germany 84-71.
- The USA advanced by beating Nigeria 88-74.
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on August 9.
- The USA continued their strong run, beating Australia 85-64.
- In a very close game that went into overtime, France defeated Belgium 81-75.
Bronze Medal Game
The bronze medal game was played on August 11.
- Australia won the bronze medal by beating Belgium 85-81 in a tight contest.
Gold Medal Game
The gold medal game was the final match of the tournament on August 11.
- The USA won the gold medal in a very close game, defeating France 67-66. It was an exciting finish to the tournament!
Final Ranking
Here are the final standings for all the teams in the tournament:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts |
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Awards
After the tournament ended on August 11, FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) announced special awards for the best players and coach.
| FIBA All-Star Five | ||
|---|---|---|
| Forward | Centers | |
| Breanna Stewart Gabby Williams Alanna Smith Emma Meesseman |
A'ja Wilson |
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| FIBA All-Second Team | ||
| Guards | Forwards | Centers |
| Ezinne Kalu Julie Vanloo |
Satou Sabally Valeriane Ayayi |
Ezi Magbegor |
| MVP: A'ja Wilson |
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| Rising Star: Jade Melbourne |
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| Best Defensive Player: Gabby Williams |
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| Best Coach: Rena Wakama |
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See also
