Basketball game that shocked the world
NBA players were allowed to participate in the Olympic basketball tournament starting in 1992, and thanks to them, the USA has been nearly unbeatable. However, 20 years ago, a team led by stars like Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan was defeated by a country no one expected to win.
Since the Barcelona Games, the Americans have maintained a tight grip on basketball, losing only four matches. One of those losses occurred three years ago during the Tokyo group stage against France, while the other three happened at the Athens Olympics 2004.
The Americans, who entered Greece as the three-time reigning Olympic champions, were the overwhelming favorites to win the tournament. The team was young, with 29-year-old Allen Iverson being the oldest player.
Future legends further bolstered the youthful exuberance. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony were part of the team sent to Greece, and no member of the Athens squad was unknown to NBA fans, showing they had plenty of quality.
The Americans aimed to erase the shame of finishing only sixth in the 2002 World Championship held on their home soil. The US hired Larry Brown as head coach to continue their Olympic dynasty. Brown entered the Games as the reigning NBA champion, having won his first and only title with the Detroit Pistons.
The warning sign
Ten days before the Olympics, the first signs emerged that the USA would have a challenging tournament in Greece. In a warm-up game in Cologne, Germany, they lost to Italy 78-95, marking the biggest-ever defeat for a USA team featuring NBA players.
However, the Americans’ loss to the Italians did not worry them much. Tim Duncan and Lamar Odom considered it a learning experience. Brown emphasized the need for better defense, and Iverson criticized his team’s poor communication on defense.
Italy’s blueprint for beating the Americans was relatively simple: move the ball well. They hit 15 three-pointers, seven of which were made by Gianluca Basile and five by Giacomo Galanda.
While the USA team took the loss in stride, the fans did not. A week before the game, ESPN’s “SportsNation” reported that 78.2% of viewers believed the Americans would win the gold medal at the Olympics.
After the 17-point defeat, that number dropped to 42%. Whereas previously, only 6% believed they would leave without a medal, by August 3, that number had risen to 24%.
An even more unexpected defeat
The USA’s first game of the Athens tournament took place in front of 11,560 spectators at the Hellinikon Olympic Arena, built at the cost of 49 million euros but now demolished. The crowd expected to see NBA stars, spectacular dunks, and how the Americans would secure their 25th consecutive Olympic victory.
They had no idea they would witness something much more significant.
Everyone in the arena expected one side to be steamrolled, with the USA driving the asphalt paver. Instead, Brown’s team was defeated by 19 points. What made it even more remarkable was that the Americans didn’t lose to a heavyweight like Lithuania or the reigning world champions Serbia and Montenegro.
No, the USA was beaten by Puerto Rico by 92-73.
The game’s fate was decided in the second quarter, where Puerto Rico outscored the USA 28-7, taking a 20-point lead into halftime. In the third quarter, the Americans tried desperately to mount a comeback but clawed back just five points.
The box score highlighted several interesting details. First, Puerto Rico played with just a seven-man rotation, while nine USA players logged at least ten minutes.
The star of the match was Carlos Arroyo. Before the Olympics, the guard had his best NBA season, carried Puerto Rico’s flag at the opening ceremony, and tormented the Americans with 24 points, seven assists, and four steals.
Although Brown and Iverson wanted to see better defense in the Olympics than in the warm-up games, their hopes were dashed. Puerto Rico’s 92 points already indicated the Americans’ weakness, as did the fact that their opponents made 50% of their three-pointers and 56.4% of their field goals.
Also, the loss to Puerto Rico validated Brown’s fears that the Americans were missing reliable three-point shooters. They made 24 attempts beyond the arc, making only three shots. It was an especially rough night for Iverson and Richard Jefferson, who went 1-for-10 and 0-for-6, respectively.
The USA’s surprisingly substantial loss is even more shocking when you look at the rebounding battle. They dominated 46-27 and grabbed 25 offensive boards but couldn’t capitalize on those second chances. Duncan, in particular, was a force in the paint, pulling down 11 offensive rebounds.
The Americans’ defensive lapses, poor shooting from downtown, and overly individualistic play – Marbury averaged the most assists at just 3.4 – meant that every game was challenging for Brown’s team, except for the blowout win against Angola.
After the loss to Puerto Rico, they defeated Greece and Australia but then suffered another cold shower, losing by four points to Lithuania. They beat Spain by eight in the quarterfinals, lost to eventual champion Argentina by the same margin, and won the bronze medal game against Lithuania by eight again.
This was the USA’s second consecutive experience, proving that more than just sending NBA players to a major tournament was required. A cohesive team and a coach who could unite them into a formidable force were needed. Or a squad where one superstar stands next to another…
Puerto Rico also advanced from the group stage in Athens but lost to eventual silver medalist Italy and fell to host Greece in the fifth-sixth-place game.
But unlike the medal-winning Americans, they looked back on the tournament very positively. First, they made Olympic basketball history by defeating the USA, and second, their team had only finished higher once at the Olympics: in 1964, when they came in fourth.
