Games took place in the Morehouse College Gymnasium and in the Georgia Dome.

[1] He had previously played with the Bulls in the 1992 and later that year, for the "Dream Team" at the Barcelona Olympics.

The reigning world champions and the host country qualify automatically, as do the winners of the five continental championships, plus the runner-up and third place from the Americas, the runner-up from Asia and the second through fourth places from the Europe tournament.

For the women's tournament, the extra teams consisted of the runner-up from the Americas, in addition to the second and third places from Asia and Europe.

Tie-breaking criteria: The four best teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.