Paris 2024 Olympics Preview: all-time Olympic Games scorers in basketball, players with most games played, most points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals recorded in a single game, and best averages during one tournament.
The wait for the Paris Olympics and its basketball tournament is nearly over, prompting a look back at this prestigious international competition held every four years.
Carmelo Anthony
| Position: | SF |
| Age: | 40 |
| Height: | 203 cm |
| Weight: | 104 kg |
| Birth place: | Maryland, United States of America |
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Throughout its history, the Olympics have witnessed legendary teams such as the USA's "Dream Team" and been graced by the presence of FIBA icons like Oscar Schmidt, Michael Jordan, Drazen Petrovic, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant, and many in between.
Basketball has been a staple at the Summer Olympics since Berlin 1936, mainly dominated by the United States, except for a few exceptions like 1972, 1980, 1988, and 2004.
While American players may not always lead in individual statistical categories, they shine brightly on the all-time medal charts. NBA legend Carmelo Anthony stands out as the most decorated male basketball player with four Olympic Games medals.
'Melo' has more gold medals than any other men's basketball player and more than every nation except the United States itself. His Olympic journey began with a bronze in 2004, followed by gold in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
Credit FIBA
This record could soon be surpassed. Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant is set to compete for his fourth consecutive gold medal with Team USA in Paris 2024.
A victory would elevate Durant above Anthony as the top gold-medal winner in men's Olympic basketball. Even reaching the podium would tie KD with Anthony's overall medal count in the sport.
But Carmelo is not currently the most winningest Olympian in basketball. He has one fewer medal than some female stars. Two Americans, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, each have five gold medals. While Bird retired after the Tokyo Olympics, Taurasi is still active and will be competing for a record sixth gold this summer.
Top medalists
| No. | Player | Team | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1. | Carmelo Anthony | USA | 3 (2008, 2012, 2016) | - | 1 (2004) | 4 |
| 2. | Gennadi Volnov | Soviet Union | 1 (1972) | 2 (1960, 1964) | 1 (1968) | 4 |
| 3. | Sergei Belov | Soviet Union | 1 (1972) | - | 3 (1968, 1976, 1980) | 4 |
| 4. | Kevin Durant | USA | 3 (2012, 2016, 2020) | - | - | 3 |
| 5-6. | LeBron James | USA | 2 (2008, 2012) | - | 1 (2004) | 3 |
| 5-6. | David Robinson | USA | 2 (1992, 1996) | - | 1 (1988) | 3 |
When it comes to men's basketball scoring records at the Olympic Games, one name stands above all: Brazil's Oscar Schmidt.
Although he never won a medal, Schmidt, a five-time Olympian (1980-1996), left an unforgettable mark on the sport. He holds the records for all-time points scored (1093), highest scoring average (28.8), and most points in a single game (55).
Credit FIBA
Schmidt was the top scorer in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympics, and his 42.3 points per game average in 1988 is an Olympic record. In that same year, he set the single-game record by scoring 55 points against Spain.
Schmidt features in six of the ten highest-scoring games in Olympic history.
At the previous Tokyo Olympics, Slovenia's Luka Doncic scored 48 points vs. Argentina to tie the second-highest total ever.
All-time scorers
| No. | Player | Team | Total points scored |
| 1. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 1,093 |
| 2. | Andrew Gaze | Australia | 789 |
| 3. | Pau Gasol | Spain | 649 |
| 4. | Luis Scola | Argentina | 591 |
| 5. | Manu Ginobili | Argentina | 523 |
Most points in a single game
| No. | Player | Team | Points | Opponent | Year |
| 1. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 55 | Spain | 1988 |
| 2-3. | Luka Doncic | Slovenia | 48 | Argentina | 2020 |
| 2-3. | Ed Palubinskas | Australia | 48 | Mexico | 1976 |
| 4-5. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 46 | Soviet Union | 1988 |
| 4-5. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 46 | Puerto Rico | 1988 |
| 6. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 45 | Puerto Rico | 1996 |
| 7-9. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 44 | China | 1988 |
| 7-9. | Ricardo Duarte | Peru | 44 | South Korea | 1964 |
| 7-9. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 44 | Spain | 1992 |
| 10. | Patty Mills | Australia | 42 | Slovenia | 2020 |
Best scoring average during one tournament
| No. | Player | Team | Scoring average | Year |
| 1. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 42.3 | 1988 |
| 2. | Ed Palubinskas | Australia | 31.3 | 1976 |
| 3. | Ian Davies | Australia | 29.3 | 1980 |
| 4. | Oscar Schmidt | Brazil | 27.4 | 1996 |
| 5. | Patty Mills | Australia | 26.8 | 2020 |
Alongside Australia's Andrew Gaze, Puerto Rico's Teofilo Cruz, and Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez, Schmidt holds the record for the most Olympic appearances in men's basketball, each participating in five Games.
Cruz was the first to achieve this milestone, competing in five different Summer Olympics from 1960 to 1976.
Schmidt matched this feat twenty years later at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Gaze followed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Navarro at the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Fernandez at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Credit FIBA
Rudy Fernandez, now 39, recently secured victory at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Valencia, paving the way for his participation in the Paris Olympic Games. This would mark his sixth Olympic tournament, setting a new record for the most Olympic appearances in men's basketball.
With a deep run, Fernandez could also become the player with the most games played in Olympic basketball.
The Spanish and Real Madrid legend, with two Olympic silvers (2008 and 2012) and a bronze (2016), will retire after the Paris Games.
Players with the most games and tournaments played
| No. | Player | Team | Number of Olympics | Games played |
| 1. | Andrew Gaze | Australia | 5 | 40 |
| 2. | Teofilo Cruz | Puerto Rico | 5 | 39 |
| 3. | Oscar Schimdt | Brazil | 5 | 38 |
| 4. | Juan Carlos Navarro | Spain | 5 | 37 |
| 5. | Rudy Fernandez | Spain | 5 | 35 |
Fernandez isn't the only player who could make history at the upcoming Olympic Games.
With triple-double threats like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Josh Giddey on board, it's time to talk about this rare feat.
Throughout Olympic history, there have only been three registered triple-doubles in men's basketball. It's worth noting that assists and rebounds were not consistently tracked until the 1970s, so earlier triple-doubles may have gone unrecorded.
The first official triple-double occurred during the Montreal 1976 Games, when FIBA Hall of Fame member Alexander Belov posted 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Soviet Union's 100-72 victory over Canada.
The feat was repeated in London in 2012 by LeBron James, who propelled Team USA to the semifinals with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists in their win over Australia.
Most recently, at the Tokyo Olympics, it was the Slovenian wonderboy who notched a triple-double. Doncic had 16 points, 18 assists, and 10 rebounds in the narrow 89-90 loss to France in the semifinal.
The star-studded player pool gives us hope that the Paris Olympics will be memorable, with several records being broken or matched.
Other major individual Olympic basketball records
Most assists in a single game
| No. | Player | Team | Assists | Opponent | Year |
| 1. | Manuel Saenz | Mexico | 20 | Japan | 1976 |
| 2. | Luka Doncic | Slovenia | 18 | France | 2020 |
| 3. | Steve Nash | Canada | 15 | Australia | 2000 |
| 4-7. | Pierluigi Marzorati | Italy | 14 | Puerto Rico | 1976 |
| 4-7. | Sun Fengwu | China | 14 | France | 1984 |
| 4-7. | Tomas Herrera | Cuba | 14 | Mexico | 1976 |
| 4-7. | Abdelmeguid Amir | Egypt | 14 | France | 1984 |
Best assists average during one tournament
| No. | Player | Team | Assists average | Year |
| 1. | Luka Doncic | Slovenia | 9.5 | 2020 |
| 2. | Tomas Satoransky | Czech Republic | 8.7 | 2020 |
| 3. | Mantas Kalnietis | Lithuania | 7.5 | 2016 |
| 4-5. | Toni Kukoc | Croatia | 7.0 | 1996 |
| 4-5. | Matthew Dellavedova | Australia | 7.0 | 2016 |
Most rebounds in a single game
| No. | Player | Team | Rebounds | Opponent | Year |
| 1. | Marcos Abdala Leite | Brazil | 22 | Puerto Rico | 1972 |
| 2-4. | Milun Marovic | Yugoslavia | 20 | Philippines | 1972 |
| 2-4. | Arvydas Sabonis | Soviet Union | 20 | Australia | 1988 |
| 2-4. | Hans-Jurgen Gnad | Germany | 20 | Spain | 1992 |
| 5-6. | Yvan Sunara | Yugoslavia | 19 | Egypt | 1984 |
| 5-6. | Clifford Luyk | Spain | 19 | Japan | 1972 |
Best rebounds average during one tournament
| No. | Player | Team | Rebounds average | Year |
| 1. | Hamed Haddadi | Iran | 11.2 | 2008 |
| 2. | Mike Tobey | Slovenia | 10.7 | 2020 |
| 3. | Yi Jianlian | China | 10.2 | 2012 |
| 4-5. | Arvydas Sabonis | Lithuania | 10.1 | 1996 |
| 4-5. | Jose Ortiz | Puerto Rico | 10.1 | 1996 |
Most steals in a single game
| No. | Player | Team | Steals | Opponent | Year |
| 1. | Igor Miglinieks | Unified Team | 11 | Lithuania | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Rimas Kurtinaitis | Lithuania | 8 | Venezuela | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Michael Jordan | USA | 8 | Croatia | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Michael Jordan | USA | 8 | Angola | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Xiaobin Gong | China | 8 | Angola | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Alexander Volkov | Unified Team | 8 | Venezuela | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Jun Sun | China | 8 | Lithuania | 1992 |
| 2-8. | Paulo Villas | Brazil | 8 | Australia | 1992 |
Most blocks in a single game
| No. | Player | Team | Blocks | Opponent | Year |
| 1. | Stojan Vrankovic | Yugoslavia | 9 | Puerto Rico | 1988 |
| 2-3. | Salah Mejri | Tunisia | 7 | Argentina | 2012 |
| 2-3. | Stojan Vrankovic | Yugoslavia | 7 | Canada | 1988 |
| 4-6. | Patrick Ewing | USA | 6 | Canada | 1984 |
| 4-6. | Alonzo Mourning | USA | 6 | Italy | 2000 |
| 4-6. | Fernando Romay | Spain | 6 | Uruguay | 1984 |
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