Once again, the United States sits atop the basketball world.
Team USA took home gold in both the men's and women's competitions at the Paris Olympics, a fifth straight title for the men and a historic eighth straight for the women. But while that may be the top headline, there's so much more to the story: These Games were a celebration, a two-week testament to just how good the international game has gotten and the spectacular talent that exists all around the world. From France's double silver to the German men reaching their first semifinal to Belgium's women's team's first-ever medal, history was made all over the place, and it's hard not to feel great about where the sport is headed with Los Angeles on the horizon in 2028.
Men's competition
This summer didn't start out the way the U.S. men's basketball team had hoped, with a rocky series of exhibition games that had many wondering — as they seem to do ahead of every Olympics — whether this Team USA squad was good enough to take home gold.
When the lights came on, though, Steve Kerr's crew figured it out. Playing 10-man rotations and a very international style of basketball, the U.S. rolled through group play and a quarterfinal matchup against Brazil with just about everybody — from Devin Booker to Anthony Edwards to Anthony Davis to Joel Embiid — getting a moment to shine. LeBron James led the way, averaging 14.2 points, 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game on a sizzling 66% shooting from the floor en route to Olympic MVP honors.
And when the chips were down, Steph Curry took it home.
Curry's sensational shooting helped erase a 15-point second-half deficit in the semifinal against Serbia, then shut the door on France in the gold medal game.
Steph was hardly the only star to shine on the Olympic stage. Victor Wembanyama was somehow even better than advertised in his first Games, ranking second in the tournament in rebounds and blocks per game, tying for the lead in steals, and putting 26 on the U.S. in the final. Nikola Jokic seemingly flirted with a triple-double for the entire tournament, including an OT thriller in the quarterfinal against Australia, then finally got one in a bronze medal win over Germany. Speaking of the Germans: With Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner leading the way, they made it to the medal round for the first time ever, and the arrow is only pointing up.
All of these teams boast young, hungry, talented cores — cores that should be even better by the time Los Angeles rolls around in 2028. The road to a sixth straight gold for Team USA is only going to get tougher.
Medalists
Gold: USA
Silver: France
Bronze: Serbia
Women's competition
We got another thrilling final on the women's side, where France came within literal inches of forcing overtime and potentially ending Team USA's Olympic winning streak at 60 games. But the U.S. survived by a single point, clinching an eighth straight gold.
That was really the only game in which the U.S. was threatened, rolling through its other five wins by double digits.
But that doesn't mean this tournament was lacking for drama and storylines: Breakout stars abound, from Gabby Williams doing it all for France, Emma Meesseman leading the competition in scoring and taking Belgium to unseen heights, Nigeria making history for Africa by advancing to the knockout round and a new generation of Aussies carrying on the Opals' Olympic tradition. Australia and Belgium provided one heck of an undercard in the bronze medal game, the Opals holding off Meesseman and Julie Vanloo in the closing minutes to capture a sixth medal.
The world is closing the gap on the Americans, and new countries from all over the globe are developing Olympic-level talent. It'll be fascinating to see where that leaves us in Los Angeles in 2028.
Medalists
Gold: USA
Silver: France
Bronze: Australia