A look at the Olympic men’s basketball tournament

HIGHLIGHTS FROM RIO: The U.S. won its third consecutive gold medal and pushed its Olympic winning streak to 25 games. Serbia went only 4-4 in Olympic play but won the silver, and Spain topped Argentina in a one-point game for the bronze.

WHAT’S NEW: Iran is back in the Olympic field for just the second time since 1948 and Japan, which got in automatically as the host nation, will play for the first time since 1976. Gregg Popovich takes over as U.S. coach, after Mike Krzyzewski’s run of three consecutive gold medals.

TEAMS THAT QUALIFIED: United States, Australia, Spain, France, Japan, Nigeria, Iran, Argentina. Four more spots to be awarded July 4.

TOKYO EXPECTATIONS: With top NBA players like Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and more, the Americans have to be the favorite for gold once again. But the U.S. finished only seventh at the Basketball World Cup two years ago, albeit with a much different roster. Australia is desperate for a breakthrough medal, France has high medal hopes and Spain is the reigning World Cup champion.

ATHLETES TO WATCH: Durant is seeking a third gold medal. Rudy Gobert (France), Beal and Lillard were All-NBA players this season (and a first-team All-NBA pick, Luka Doncic, will also be there if Slovenia qualifies).

GOLD MEDAL MOMENTS: The gold- and bronze-medal games are Aug. 7.


More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports