2012 United States men's Olympic basketball team

Qualified for the quarterfinals

The men's national basketball team of the United States won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Defending the gold medal won by the 2008 team in the previous Olympic Games, the Americans qualified for the 2012 Games after winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The Olympic team lost some players to injuries who might have made the team, and appeared to be short on big men. Their roster featured five players returning from the 2008 Olympic team and five others from the 2010 World Championship. Coming off his successful season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), LeBron James became the leader of the Olympic team.

The USA went undefeated but appeared vulnerable in five exhibition games. They finished the tournament with a perfect 8–0 record, defeating opponents by an average of 32 points while trailing in the fourth quarter only once. The Americans often played with a small lineup that emphasized speed, quickness, and outside shooting. The team set an Olympic single-game record with 156 points scored against Nigeria in the preliminary round. In a rematch of the 2008 finals, Team USA again defeated Spain to capture the gold.

The 2012 team consisted of returning 2008 Olympic gold medal winners small forwards LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and shooting guard Kobe Bryant. It also featured 2010 World Championship winners small forwards Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, power forward Kevin Love, center Tyson Chandler, and point guard Russell Westbrook. The final two roster spots were claimed by shooting guard James Harden, and power forward Blake Griffin; they were chosen over shooting guard Eric Gordon, small forward Rudy Gay, and power forward Anthony Davis. Griffin then sustained a torn meniscus during practice and was replaced by Davis, the number one overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, who earlier was unable to practice during the final tryouts due to an ankle injury. Forward Lamar Odom removed himself from consideration in July before the start of training camp.

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