The wait for the Paris Olympics and its basketball tournament is over, prompting a look back at this prestigious international competition held every four years.

Throughout its history, the Olympics have witnessed legendary teams such as the USA's "Dream Team" and been graced by the presence of FIBA icons like Oscar Schmidt, Michael Jordan, Drazen Petrovic, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant, and many in between. 

Basketball has been a staple at the Summer Olympics since Berlin 1936, mainly dominated by the United States, except for a few exceptions like 1972, 1980, 1988, and 2004.

While American players may not always lead in individual statistical categories, they shine brightly on the all-time medal charts. Following the Paris 2024 Olympics, Kevin Durant now stands out as the most decorated male basketball player with four Olympic Games gold medals.

KD, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony have more gold medals than any other men's basketball player and more than every nation except the United States itself.

Melo's Olympic journey began with a bronze in 2004, followed by gold in 2008, 2012, and 2016. LeBron's Olympic path is quite similar, but he won gold in Paris instead of Rio.

But Durant is not currently the most winningest Olympian in basketball. He has fewer medals than some female stars.

Top medalists

No.	Player	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	Kevin Durant	USA	4 (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)	-	-	4
2-3.	Carmelo Anthony	USA	3 (2008, 2012, 2016)	-	1 (2004)	4
2-3.	LeBron James	USA	3 (2008, 2012, 2024)	-	1 (2004)	4
4.	Gennadi Volnov	Soviet Union	1 (1972)	2 (1960, 1964)	1 (1968)	4
5.	Sergei Belov	Soviet Union	1 (1972)	-	3 (1968, 1976, 1980)	4

When it comes to men's basketball scoring records at the Olympic Games, one name stands above all: Brazil's Oscar Schmidt.

Although he never won a medal, Schmidt, a five-time Olympian (1980-1996), left an unforgettable mark on the sport. He holds the records for all-time points scored (1093), highest scoring average (28.8), and most points in a single game (55).

Schmidt was the top scorer in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympics, and his 42.3 points per game average in 1988 is an Olympic record. In that same year, he set the single-game record by scoring 55 points against Spain.

Schmidt features in six of the ten highest-scoring games in Olympic history.

At the previous Tokyo Olympics, Slovenia's Luka Doncic scored 48 points vs. Argentina to tie the second-highest total ever.

All-time scorers

No.	Player	Team	Total points scored
1.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	1,093
2.	Andrew Gaze	Australia	789
3.	Pau Gasol	Spain	649
4.	Luis Scola	Argentina	591
5.	Patty Mills	Australia	567

Most points in a single game

No.	Player	Team	Points	Opponent	Year
1.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	55	Spain	1988
2-3.	Luka Doncic	Slovenia	48	Argentina	2020
2-3.	Ed Palubinskas	Australia	48	Mexico	1976
4-5.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	46	Soviet Union	1988
4-5.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	46	Puerto Rico	1988
6.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	45	Puerto Rico	1996
7-9.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	44	China	1988
7-9.	Ricardo Duarte	Peru	44	South Korea	1964
7-9.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	44	Spain	1992
10.	Patty Mills	Australia	42	Slovenia	2020

Best scoring average during one tournament

No.	Player	Team	Scoring average	Year
1.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	42.3	1988
2.	Ed Palubinskas	Australia	31.3	1976
3.	Ian Davies	Australia	29.3	1980
4.	Oscar Schmidt	Brazil	27.4	1996
5.	Patty Mills	Australia	26.8	2020

Alongside Australia's Andrew Gaze, Puerto Rico's Teofilo Cruz, and Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez, Schmidt holds the record for the most Olympic appearances in men's basketball.

Cruz was the first to achieve the milestone of competing in five different Summer Olympics from 1960 to 1976.

Schmidt matched this feat twenty years later at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Gaze followed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Navarro at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Fernandez at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Rudy Fernandez, now 39, recently secured victory at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Valencia, paving the way for his participation in the Paris Olympic Games.

This has marked his sixth Olympic tournament, setting a new record for the most Olympic appearances in men's basketball.

The Spanish and Real Madrid legend, with two Olympic silvers (2008 and 2012) and a bronze (2016), will retire after the Paris Games.

Players with the most games and tournaments played

No.	Player	Team	Number of Olympics	Games played
1.	Rudy Fernandez	Spain	6	38
2-5.	Andrew Gaze	Australia	5	40
2-5.	Teofilo Cruz	Puerto Rico	5	39
2-5.	Oscar Schimdt	Brazil	5	38
2-5.	Juan Carlos Navarro	Spain	5	37

Fernandez isn't the only player who has made history at the Paris Olympic Games.

With triple-double threats like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Josh Giddey on board, it's time to talk about this rare feat.

Throughout Olympic history, there have only been five registered triple-doubles in men's basketball. It's worth noting that assists and rebounds were not consistently tracked until the 1970s, so earlier triple-doubles may have gone unrecorded.

The first official triple-double occurred during the Montreal 1976 Games, when FIBA Hall of Fame member Alexander Belov posted 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Soviet Union's 100-72 victory over Canada.

The feat was repeated in London in 2012 by LeBron James, who propelled Team USA to the semifinals with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists in their win over Australia.

At the Tokyo Olympics, it was the Slovenian wonderboy who notched a triple-double. Doncic had 16 points, 18 assists, and 10 rebounds in the narrow 89-90 loss to France in the semifinal.

This summer, LeBron once again proved that age is just a number. The basketball icon became the first player to record multiple triple-doubles in Olympic history, scoring 16 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists to lead Team USA to a narrow 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia.

Jokic also had a standout performance in Paris during the final tournament day, where he recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 93-83 win against Germany, helping Serbia secure the bronze medal.

Other major individual Olympic basketball records

Most assists in a single game

No.	Player	Team	Assists	Opponent	Year
1.	Manuel Saenz	Mexico	20	Japan	1976
2.	Luka Doncic	Slovenia	18	France	2020
3.	Steve Nash	Canada	15	Australia	2000
4-7.	Pierluigi Marzorati	Italy	14	Puerto Rico	1976
4-7.	Sun Fengwu	China	14	France	1984
4-7.	Tomas Herrera	Cuba	14	Mexico	1976
4-7.	Abdelmeguid Amir	Egypt	14	France	1984

Best assists average during one tournament

No.	Player	Team	Assists average	Year
1.	Luka Doncic	Slovenia	9.5	2020
2-3.	Tomas Satoransky	Czech Republic	8.7	2020
2-3.	Nikola Jokic	Serbia	8.7	2024
4.	LeBron James	USA	8.5	2024
4-5.	Yuki Kawamura	Japan	7.7	2024

Most rebounds in a single game

No.	Player	Team	Rebounds	Opponent	Year
1.	Marcos Abdala Leite	Brazil	22	Puerto Rico	1972
2-4.	Milun Marovic	Yugoslavia	20	Philippines	1972
2-4.	Arvydas Sabonis	Soviet Union	20	Australia	1988
2-4.	Hans-Jurgen Gnad	Germany	20	Spain	1992
5-6.	Yvan Sunara	Yugoslavia	19	Egypt	1984
5-6.	Clifford Luyk	Spain	19	Japan	1972

Best rebounds average during one tournament

No.	Player	Team	Rebounds average	Year
1.	Hamed Haddadi	Iran	11.2	2008
2-3.	Nikola Jokic	Serbia	10.7	2024
2-3.	Mike Tobey	Slovenia	10.7	2020
4.	Yi Jianlian	China	10.2	2012
5-6.	Arvydas Sabonis	Lithuania	10.1	1996
5-6.	Jose Ortiz	Puerto Rico	10.1	1996

Most steals in a single game

No.	Player	Team	Steals	Opponent	Year
1.	Igor Miglinieks	Unified Team	11	Lithuania	1992
2-8.	Rimas Kurtinaitis	Lithuania	8	Venezuela	1992
2-8.	Michael Jordan	USA	8	Croatia	1992
2-8.	Michael Jordan	USA	8	Angola	1992
2-8.	Xiaobin Gong	China	8	Angola	1992
2-8.	Alexander Volkov	Unified Team	8	Venezuela	1992
2-8.	Jun Sun	China	8	Lithuania	1992
2-8.	Paulo Villas	Brazil	8	Australia	1992

Most blocks in a single game

No.	Player	Team	Blocks	Opponent	Year
1.	Stojan Vrankovic	Yugoslavia	9	Puerto Rico	1988
2-3.	Salah Mejri	Tunisia	7	Argentina	2012
2-3.	Stojan Vrankovic	Yugoslavia	7	Canada	1988
4-6.	Patrick Ewing	USA	6	Canada	1984
4-6.	Alonzo Mourning	USA	6	Italy	2000
4-6.	Fernando Romay	Spain	6	Uruguay	1984

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