Basketball contests at the 1972 Summer Olympics was the eighth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, Germany from August 27 to September 9. The Soviet Union controversially won the gold medal game against the United States.[1][2] This was the first time that the USA did not win a gold medal since the sport's introduction into the Olympics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics. The bronze was won by Cuba, the only Olympic medal they have won in basketball.[3] Another controversy was suspension of Mickey Coll after a positive drug test.
8th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
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Munich 1972 | |||||||||
Tournament details | |||||||||
Olympics | 1972 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Host nation | West Germany | ||||||||
City | Munich | ||||||||
Duration | August 27 – September 9 | ||||||||
Men's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 16 | ||||||||
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Tournaments | |||||||||
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Note: The U.S. refused their silver medals and didn't attend the medal ceremony due to the controversy surrounding the final.
Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country and the first four places at the previous tournament. Additional spots were decided by various continental tournaments held by FIBA plus an additional pre-Olympic tournament that granted two extra berths.
Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
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Egypt[a] Senegal |
Cuba Puerto Rico |
Japan Philippines |
Italy Czechoslovakia Poland Spain |
Australia | United States – Gold medal in 1968 Yugoslavia – Silver medal in 1968 Soviet Union – Bronze medal in 1968 Brazil – 4th place in 1968 West Germany – Olympic hosts |
Tie-breaking criteria:
For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams compete for 5th through 16th places in separate brackets.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 542 | 312 | +230 | 14 | Semifinals |
2 | Cuba | 7 | 6 | 1 | 560 | 445 | +115 | 13 | |
3 | Brazil | 7 | 4 | 3 | 561 | 490 | +71 | 11[a] | 5th–8th classification round |
4 | Czechoslovakia | 7 | 4 | 3 | 493 | 489 | +4 | 11[a] | |
5 | Spain | 7 | 3 | 4 | 486 | 500 | −14 | 10[b] | 9th–12th classification round |
6 | Australia | 7 | 3 | 4 | 523 | 524 | −1 | 10[b] | |
7 | Japan | 7 | 1 | 6 | 442 | 643 | −201 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
8 | Egypt | 7 | 0 | 7 | 440 | 644 | −204 | 7 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Soviet Union | 7 | 7 | 0 | 639 | 479 | +160 | 14 | Semifinals |
2 | Italy | 7 | 5 | 2 | 547 | 471 | +76 | 12[a] | |
3 | Yugoslavia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 582 | 484 | +98 | 12[a] | 5th–8th classification round |
4 | Puerto Rico | 7 | 5 | 2 | 570 | 531 | +39 | 12[a] | |
5 | West Germany (H) | 7 | 3 | 4 | 482 | 518 | −36 | 10 | 9th–12th classification round |
6 | Poland | 7 | 2 | 5 | 520 | 536 | −16 | 9 | |
7 | Philippines | 7 | 1 | 6 | 526 | 666 | −140 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
8 | Senegal | 7 | 0 | 7 | 405 | 586 | −181 | 7 |
Semifinals (September 7)[4] | Gold medal (September 9) | ||||||||
A1 | United States | 68 | |||||||
B2 | Italy | 38 | |||||||
A1 | United States | 50 | |||||||
B1 | Soviet Union | 51 | |||||||
B1 | Soviet Union | 67 | |||||||
A2 | Cuba | 61 | Bronze medal (September 8) | ||||||
B2 | Italy | 65 | |||||||
A2 | Cuba | 66 |
5th–8th place
Semifinals (September 7[4]) | 5th place (September 9) | ||||||||
A3 | Brazil | 83 | |||||||
B4 | Puerto Rico | 87 | |||||||
B4 | Puerto Rico | 70 | |||||||
B3 | Yugoslavia | 86 | |||||||
B3 | Yugoslavia | 66 | |||||||
A4 | Czechoslovakia | 63 | 7th place (September 8) | ||||||
A3 | Brazil | 87 | |||||||
A4 | Czechoslovakia | 69 |
9th–12th place
Semifinals (September 5) | 9th place (September 9) | ||||||||
A5 | Spain | 76 | |||||||
B6 | Poland | 87 | |||||||
B6 | Poland | 83 | |||||||
A6 | Australia | 91 | |||||||
B5 | West Germany | 69 | |||||||
A6 | Australia | 70 | 11th place (September 8) | ||||||
A5 | Spain | 84 | |||||||
B5 | West Germany | 83 |
13th–16th place
Semifinals (September 5) | 13th place (September 7) | ||||||||
A7 | Japan | 70 | |||||||
B8 | Senegal | 67 | |||||||
A7 | Japan | 73 | |||||||
B7 | Philippines | 82 | |||||||
B7 | Philippines | 2 | |||||||
A8 | Egypt | 0[a] | 15th place | ||||||
B8 | Egypt | 0[a] | |||||||
A8 | Senegal | 2 |
September 9
23:30 |
Soviet Union | 51–50 | United States |
Scoring by half: 26–21, 25–29 | ||
Pts: Sergey Belov 20 Rebs: Alexander Belov 8 |
Pts: Tom Henderson, Jim Brewer 9 each Rebs: Mike Bantom 9 |
1972 Olympic Basketball Champions |
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Soviet Union First title |
Rank | Team | Pld | W | L |
---|---|---|---|---|
Soviet Union | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
United States | 9 | 8 | 1 | |
Cuba | 9 | 7 | 2 | |
4th | Italy | 9 | 5 | 4 |
5th | Yugoslavia | 9 | 7 | 2 |
6th | Puerto Rico | 9 | 6 | 3 |
7th | Brazil | 9 | 5 | 4 |
8th | Czechoslovakia | 9 | 4 | 5 |
9th | Australia | 9 | 5 | 4 |
10th | Poland | 9 | 3 | 6 |
11th | Spain | 9 | 4 | 5 |
12th | West Germany | 9 | 3 | 6 |
13th | Philippines | 9 | 3 | 6 |
14th | Japan | 9 | 2 | 7 |
15th | Senegal | 9 | 1 | 8 |
16th | Egypt | 9 | 0 | 9 |