Basketball at the Rio 2016 Olympics: All you need to know

How does it work?

A game consists of four 10-minute periods, with the clock stopped whenever the referee blows a whistle.

Five players per team are allowed on court at any one time. Shots are worth one, two or three points, depending on the player's position on the court.

The men's and women's events each consist of 12 nations split into two pools of six. The top four in each pool progress to the quarter-finals.

Who are the favourites?

Needless to say, the USA's stars are the heavy odds-on favourites in both events. Their competition on the men's side will come from 2015 Eurobasket winners Spain, the 2008 and 2012 Olympic silver medallists.

America's women will be challenged by the world's second-ranked side, Australia, who have won a medal at every Olympics since 1996.

What about the British prospects?

The men's and women's teams both failed to qualify for Rio.

Funding was cut after the teams won just one of 10 games between them at the London Olympics. As a result, training camps have had to be scrapped and NBA star Luol Deng cannot play because his insurance is too expensive.

When is it on?

Matches start on 6 August, with the women's final on 20 August and the men's final on 21 August.

I didn't know that...

The USA have won 21 of the 28 Olympic gold medals on offer across both sexes, despite boycotting the 1980 Games. The men have won 14 times in 17 attempts and the women seven in nine.

Previous British medallists:

None

Highest British position:

Ninth (men, 2012)

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