<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> London 1948 → </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> London 1948 → </Td> </Tr> <P> Basketball at the 1936 Summer Olympics was the first appearance of the sport as an official medal event . The tournament was played between 7 August and 14 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany . 21 nations entered the competition, making basketball the largest tournament of the team sports . </P> <P> The IOC and International Basketball Federation, which is the governing body of international basketball, used the 1936 tournament to experiment with outdoor basketball . Lawn tennis courts were used for the competition . This caused problems when the weather was adverse, especially during the final game . </P>

When did basketball become a sport in the olympics