Qualification Summary
Each National Olympic Committee can enter a maximum of one team in each event (12 men and 12 women for 5×5 and 4 men and 4 women for 3×3). As hosts, Japan is qualified to compete in both 5×5 events and is guaranteed to compete in one 3×3 event, but can qualify in both. The remaining quotas will be decided at various qualification events and rankings.
Qualification to the men’s tournament will be broken into two phases. Firstly, through the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the two highest ranked teams from Europe and the Americas and the highest ranked team from Africa, Asia and Oceania will qualify. The second opportunity will be through one of the four Olympic qualifying tournaments to be held in 2021.
The women’s tournament qualification is also broken into two phases. The winner of the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup will qualify to the Olympics while four Olympic qualifying tournaments to be held in 2020 will decide the remaining teams.
For 3×3 basketball the top four nations in the 3×3 Federation Ranking List on November 1 2019 will qualify a team. Should Japan fail to qualify a team in both genders they will take the place of the fourth team of the gender with the higher ranking. Afterwards, two qualification tournaments will be held with the second one open to teams that failed to qualify in basketball in any gender at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, with the exception of Japan.
Qualified Nations
Qualification events are listed in hierarchical order.
Men’s Tournament
| Qualification Event | Places | Qualified Nations |
|---|---|---|
| Host Nation | 1 |  Japan |
| 2019 Men’s World Cup – Africa | 1 |  Nigeria |
| 2019 Men’s World Cup – Asia | 1 |  Iran |
| 2019 Men’s World Cup – Europe | 2 |  France Spain |
| 2019 Men’s World Cup – Pan America | 2 |  Argentina United States |
| 2019 Men’s World Cup – Oceania | 1 |  Australia |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 1 | 1 | |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 4 | 1 |
Women’s Tournament
| Qualification Event | Places | Qualified Nations |
|---|---|---|
| Host Nation | 1 | Japan |
| 2018 Women’s World Cup | 1 | United States |
| 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 1 | 2 |  Belgium Canada |
| 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 | 3 | Australia France Puerto Rico |
| 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 3 | 2 | Nigeria Serbia |
| 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament 4 | 3 |  China South Korea Spain |
Men’s 3×3 Basketball
| Qualification Event | Places | Qualified Nations |
|---|---|---|
| 3×3 Federation Ranking List (November 1 2019) |
3 | China Russia Serbia |
| Host Nation | 1 | Japan |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 3 | |
| 2021 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 1 |
Women’s 3×3 Basketball
| Qualification Event | Places | Qualified Nations |
|---|---|---|
| 3×3 Federation Ranking List (November 1 2019) |
4 | China Mongolia Romania Russia |
| 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 3 | |
| 2021 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament | 1 |