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Listing all the NBA and WNBA Olympic flag bearers in history

The Olympic games in Paris are set to kick off and will feature two flag bearers from the NBA. LeBron James will be the first NBA player to carry the flag for the USA, while Giannis Antetokounmpo will bear the flag for his home country of Greece.

Antetokounmpo helped Greece secure their spot in the games after winning the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and was named Greece's flagbearer following his performance in the qualifying games.

LeBron and Giannis aren't the only NBA players to bear the flag, with many players bearing the flag for their countries throughout league history. Many WNBA players have also carried the flag. Here are all the NBA and WNBA players to bear the flag at the Olympics.


2020 Tokyo Olympics

Patty Mills, Sue Bird and Rui Hachimura carried the flag for their countries in the 2020 Olympics, with Mills representing Australia, Bird representing the USA, and Hachimura representing Japan.

The United States men's team took home the gold with a win over France, while the Australian men's team secured bronze with a win over Slovenia.

The United States women's team also secured the gold with a win over Japan in the final, while the France women's team took home bronze with a win over Serbia.


2016 Rio Olympics

Luis Scola carried the flag for Argentina in the 2016 Olympics, after helping their men's national team to the gold in 2004.

The United States secured the gold with a 30-point win over Serbia, while Spain won the bronze medal with a close 89-88 win over Australia.


2012 London Olympics

Pau Gasol, Lauren Jackson, Yi Jianlian and Andrei Kirilenko carried the flag for their respective countries at the 2012 Olympics. Gasol carried the flag for Spain, Jackson did so for Australia, Jianlian carried the flag for China, while Kirilenko did so for Russia.

Gasol helped lead Spain to a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, falling to the United States in the gold medal final. Russia beat Argentina for the bronze, led by Kirilenko.

The United States women's team also secured the gold with a win over France, with Australia winning the bronze over Russia to round out the women's bracket.


2008 Beijing Olympics

Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming and Manu Ginobili represented the NBA and their respective countries at the 2008 Olympics.

Ginobili bore the flag for Argentina following the 2004 Olympics, where Argentina won the gold. Ming carried the flag for China for the second-straight Olympics, while Nowitzki did so for Germany.

The United States men's team took home the gold, defeating Spain in the final, while Ginobili helped lead Argentina to the bronze with a win over Lithuania.


2004 Athens Olympics

Yao Ming and Dawn Staley represented China and the United States respectively at the 2004 Athens Olympics, with Staley becoming the first USA basketball player to bear the flag.

The Argentina men's team took home the gold medal with a win in the final over Italy, while the United States secured bronze. The United States women's team won the gold, led by Staley, with a win over Australia, while Russia took home the bronze.

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