With the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games set to get underway this summer, there will be plenty of anticipation about the basketball event, with the discipline set to feature a number of the best basketball players to represent their respective national teams as they aim for the gold medal.

Of course, there are a number of top teams that have been able to qualify for the Summer Games, with the likes of the US team being amongst the favorites for many when it comes down to claiming the gold, with a number of punters looking to take advantage of a betting bonus when it comes down to the US team as they are heavily stacked with superstar talent.

Groups

As of writing, 8 of the possible 12 teams have been confirmed to be playing at the Men’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games this summer, with four more teams still to be able to earn their place for the Games that are set to take place in the Japanese capital over the course of July and August.

The eight teams to have already sealed their place in the Men’s basketball competition include the following:

Group A: Iran, France and USA (with the final spot going to the winner of the OQT Victoria (CAN)).

Group B: Australia and Nigeria (the other two spots will feature OQT winners of Split (CRO) and Belgrade (SRB))

Group C: Argentina, Japan and Spain (as well as the winner of OQT Kaunas (LIT))

The 12 Women’s teams have already been determined and have been placed in the following groups:

Group A: Korea, Serbia, Canada, Spain

Group B: Nigeria, Japan, France, USA

Group C: Australia, Puerto Rico, China, Belgium

Format and Dates

With 12 teams competing in the Men’s 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games basketball competition, a group format of three different groups of four teams has been provided, with each team playing each other just once in a single-round robin format.

The two teams that finish first and second in their group will advance to the next round, whilst the two best third-placed teams will also qualify for the Final Phase.

The group stages start on 25 July and will run until 1 August, before the quarter-final stage starts on 3 August. The semi-finals will commence on 5 August, before the final is played on Saturday 7 August. The women’s competition follows a similar format, although it runs from 26 July to 8 August.

Venue for Olympic Basketball at Tokyo 2020

Each of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games basketball matches will be played in one single arena, with each of the games being played at the Saitama Super Arena that is located in Saitama. The city is just north of Tokyo and can be found in the Greater Tokyo metropolitan area of the city.

It is an incredible venue and one that is worthy of holding the basketball championships, as the establishment is one of the largest indoor arenas in the world and has already had an experience of hosting top-level basketball matches in the past, such as two NBA regular-season games, as well as the FIBA World Championships back in 2006. It has also been able to host other sports, such as Ice Hockey (NHL) and two World Figure Skating Championships, therefore it is a stadium that is more than suitable for the occasion.

Team USA are the favorites

There is no way of looking at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Basketball Games that are about to take place than seeing that Team USA are amongst the favorites to claim the gold medal when all is said and done on the court.

Team USA have won 28 medals of the 30 possible in the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Games basketball tournaments that have taken place, with 23 of those medals having been gold; thus highlighting just how dangerous they are in both sexes of the sport.

Of course, the NBA and the WNBA continue to provide a host of the best basketball players, which will allow Team USA to be able to pick a number of stars, however those leagues have also given players from other countries the chance to shine when on the basketball court.

However, with the current Men’s NBA season scheduled to take place up until July, there could be a number of players not featuring in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, whilst there will be others who may have injuries or simply require rest after an arduous season.