How do the 2024 Men's Olympic Basketball Qualifying tournaments work?

A total of 12 countries will compete for the gold, silver, and bronze medals at the 2024 Olympics Basketball tournament in Paris. So far, eight teams have qualified. France qualified as the hosts, and the following seven teams qualified based on their performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. 

Respective gold and silver medalists Germany and Serbia qualified as the top European teams for the World Cup. Canada and the United States qualified as top performers from the Americas, and Japan, Australia, and South Sudan were the top performers for Asia, Oceania, and Africa respectively. 

The final four spots will be determined by the 2024 Men’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be played from July 2-7, about four days after the 2024 NBA Draft. 24 teams are participating in this tournament including the 16 non-qualifiers from the 2023 FIBA World Cup, three highest-ranked countries per region in the FIBA world ranking, and five teams who qualified via the Pre-Qualifying tournaments last summer. 

The four spots will be determined through four mini-tournaments. Each of the mini-tournaments will have two groups of three where the top two teams from each group will face each other in the semifinals, with the winners advancing to the final, and the winner of the final will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The first tournament will be held in Valencia, Spain, and Lebanon, Angola, and Spain will face off in one group while Finland, Poland, and the Bahamas will face off in the other group. Spain are the favorites to qualify here, but do not write off the Bahamas who could feature Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon, and DeAndre Ayton. That NBA trio upset Argentina last summer to secure this qualification place. The winner will play in the Olympic group with Australia, Canada and the winner of the qualifying tournament in Greece. 

The second tournament will be held in Riga, Latvia, and Georgia, the Philippines, and Latvia will face off in one group while Brazil, Cameroon, and Montenegro will face off in the other group. A fully healthy Latvia — which would include Kristaps Porzingis — would be the favorites here but the Boston Celtics' injury woes throughout the playoffs make his participation seem less likely and thus any of Latvia, Montenegro, or Brazil could grab this final spot. The winner will play in the Olympic group with France, Japan, and Germany. 

The third tournament will be held in Piraeus, Greece and Slovenia, New Zealand, and Croatia will face off in one group while Greece, Egypt, and the Dominican Republic will face off in the other group. Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo seem to be leaning towards playing and if so, they will likely face each other in the final. However, a complete roster for the Dominican Republic — which would include Karl-Anthony Towns, Al Horford, Chris Duarte, Andres Feliz, and other high-level pros and NBA players - would have enough to be a strong dark horse for this qualification spot. The winner will play in the Olympic group with Australia, Canada and the winner of the qualifying tournament in Spain. 

The fourth tournament will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, the Ivory Coast, and Lithuania will face off in one group while Italy, Puerto Rico, and Bahrain will face off in the other group. Lithuania are the clear favorites, but Puerto Rico often finds a way to make noise in FIBA tournaments so Lithuania will have to be at their best. The winner will qualify for the group with the United States, Serbia, and South Sudan. 

The 12 teams for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be set on Sunday, July 7 and the tournament itself will begin 20 days later.