Admin August 15, 2024
DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images
After winning a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris this month, the United States remained atop the latest FIBA rankings released Thursday.
- United States (838.8)
- Serbia (758.9)
- Germany (755.3)
- France (743)
- Canada (747.8)
- Spain (746.7)
- Australia (732.5)
- Argentina (731.1)
- Latvia (711.4)
- Lithuania (698.9)
While Team USA is clearly still the standard, both Serbia and France made significant leaps thanks to their performances in Paris.
Serbia, which won the bronze medal, moved up from fourth in the last rankings to second in the current ones, while France had a bigger come-up than any other country, going from No. 9 to No. 4 after winning silver.
Led by Denver Nuggets superstar center and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, Serbia nearly ended Team USA’s gold medal hopes in Paris.
In the semifinals of the Olympic tournament, Serbia led the United States by as much as 17 and entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead, but the American trio of Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant put the team on their back in the fourth.
Led by Curry’s 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 9-of-14 shooting from downtown, Team USA outscored Serbia 32-15 in the fourth quarter to win 95-91 and send Serbia to the bronze medal game.
Despite the disappointment that came along with blowing such a big lead to the Americans, Serbia regrouped and took care of business against Germany, taking the bronze medal in a 93-83 win.
In the gold medal game, the United States took on a French team that had the home crowd firmly in its corner.
Three years after Team USA beat France in the gold medal game at the previous Olympics in Tokyo, the United States pulled off the feat again, beating France 98-87 in Paris.
The final score did not depict how close the game was throughout, though, as Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 26 points and gave Team USA fits from start to finish.
However, Curry was the hero for Team USA once again, leading the team with 24 points and hitting numerous huge shots down the stretch, including a fadeaway three that essentially put the game on ice.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Canada moved up two spots from seventh to fifth despite a somewhat disappointing result in Paris.
Led by Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Canadians were expected to vie for their first medal in Olympic men’s basketball since 1936, but after going a perfect 3-0 in group play, they fell 82-73 to France in the quarterfinals.
The biggest drop of any top-10 team in the FIBA rankings belonged to Spain, which went from second to sixth.
Once an international power that won Olympic silver in 2008 and 2012, and bronze in 2016, Spain went 1-2 in group play and failed to make it to the knockout stage in Paris.
