USA Basketball learns its groupings for the Paris Olympics. Tough draws await the men and women

USA Basketball's men's team is assured of seeing Serbia and South Sudan in the group stage of the Paris Olympics, while the U.S. women are guaranteed of a gold-medal-game rematch against Japan in France this summer.

FIBA, the sport's global organizing body, held the draw for the Paris Games in Mies, Switzerland, on Tuesday, slotting the fields for the 12-team basketball tournaments. The women's field is complete; the men's field still has four spots that will go to winners of qualifying tournaments in early July before the Olympics open in late July.

The U.S. men will be coached by Steve Kerr and are seeking a fifth consecutive gold medal, the U.S. women will be coached by Cheryl Reeve and are seeking an eighth consecutive Olympic title. Both are ranked No. 1 in the world, and both programs have been — by far — the dominant force in Olympic basketball since its inception.

But particularly on the men's side, gold for the Americans is no longer assured. The U.S. didn't medal at the 2019 World Cup in China nor the 2023 World Cup in the Philippines, and although the Americans intend to send a more star-studded roster to the Olympics that doesn't guarantee anything.