Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics was the nineteenth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was held from 6 August to 21 August 2016. The preliminary and knockout round matches for men were played inside the Carioca Arena 1 in Olympic Park which seated up to 16,000 spectators. The matches for women were played at the Youth Arena. This marked the first time that the men's and women's Olympic tournaments were played in multiple/separate venues.

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.