OLYMPIC BASKETBALL
1984
Pre-Olympic Warm-Up - Team USA (84) V (72) NBA All Stars - The final warm-up game for the USA Olympic team ended in a perfect 9 game unbeaten streak and confidence sky-high for the Games. The amateurs held a small 40-39 lead at the half and never looked in trouble from then on. Team USA were coached by Indiana coach Bobby Knight and also featured Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Sam Perkins (North Carolina), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown), Steve Alford (Indiana) and Chris Mullins (St.Johns). Jordan top-scored with 27 points. The NBA All-Stars featured Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas and Kurt Rambis (8, 1 Disc, CBS - Stockton/Packer, NTSC)
1992
Barcelona Olympics Group Game - USA (127) v (83) Brazil - The Dream Team of the USA easily dispatched of the Brazilians as Charles Barkley (30 pts) and Chris Mullin (19 pts) led the way. Brazil were led by the great Oscar Schmidt who top scored for Brazil with 24 pts (8, 1 Disc, NBC - Hearn/Jones, NTSC)
Barcelona Olympics Final - USA (117) v (85) Croatia - USA won Gold with a dominating performance as Michael Jordan (22 pts) and Charles Barkley (17 pts) led the team to victory. Croatia were led by Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc and Dino Raja (8, 1 Disc, NBC - Hearn/Jones, NTSC)
2004
Athens Olympics Group B - Puerto Rico (92) v (73) USA - Huge upset as Team USA lose their 1st Olympics game since 1988. Puerto Rico and Utah Jazz star Carlos Arroyo 24 points (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Storey/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Group B - USA (77) v (71) Greece - Team USA recover to beat the hosts aided by 17 points from Allen Iverson, despite playing with a broken thumb (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Storey/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Group B - USA (89) v (79) Australia - Andrew Bogut v Tim Duncan. Duncan leads the team to a big win with 18 points (8, missing 1st quarter, 2 Discs, BBC - Storey/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Group B - USA (89) v (53) Angola - Team USA dominate an overwhelmed Angola team with Tim Duncan getting 15 points in the 1st half (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Ballard/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Quarter Final - USA (102) v (94) Spain - Team USA put it all together from outside the arc with Stephon Marbury hitting 6 of 9 3 pointers en-route to 31 points (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Ballard/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Semi-Final - Argentina (89) v (81) USA - Team USA fail to make the final for the 1st time since 1988 (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Ballard/Taylor, PAL)
Athens Olympics Bronze Medal game - USA (104) v (96) Lithuania - With no pressure on them, Team USA relax and dominate a strong Lithuania team to take the Bronze medal (9, 2 Discs, BBC - Taylor, PAL)
2008
Beijing Olympics Group B - USA (101) v (70) China - The opening game for the USA went to form as they used a strong 3rd quarter to break open the game and cruise to the win. USA were led by LeBron James (18 points) and Kobe Bryant (13 points) and also featured Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade. China were led by Yao Ming (13 points). The game was watched by an estimated 1 billion people (10, 2 Discs, BBC - McIntosh/Amaechi, PAL)
Beijing Olympics Group B - USA (119) v (82) Spain - The battle for top spot in Group B was won by the USA as they finally mastered the 3 point shot to counter the Spanish zone defense. USA hit 48% of their shots from outside the arc, with LeBron James top scoring with 18 points. Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony each had 16 points. The Spanish featured Marc and Pau Gasol with the top scorer being Felipe Reyes with 19 points (10, 2 Discs, BBC - McIntosh/Amaechi, PAL)
Beijing Olympics Semi-Final - USA (101) v (81) Argentina - Team USA reached their first Olympic final since 2000 with an avenging win over Argentina. Carmelo Anthony top-scored for USA with 21 points and Lebron James added another 15. Argentina lost their top player, Manu Ginobli, with an ankle injury in the 1st half but were still competitive with Luis Scola top-scoring with 28 points (10, 2 Discs, BBC - McIntosh/Amaechi, PAL)
Beijing Olympics Final - USA (118) v (107) Spain - USA finally reached the top of their game again with arguably the greatest ever final against the Spanish. Unlike their first meeting, the Spanish played better in the post area and were better with their shooting but USA countered with big games from Dwayne Wade (27 pts), Kobe Bryant (20 pts) and Lebron James (14 pts). Spain got big games from Rudy Fernandez (22 pts), Pau Gasol (21 pts) and 18 year old Ricky Rubio (6 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ass., 3 steals) (10, 2 Discs, BBC - McIntosh/Amaechi, PAL)
2012
London Olympics Quarter Final - USA (119) v (86) Australia - Team USA finally dispatched a tough Aussie team to advance to the next round of the tournament. The Aussies only trailed by 14 points entering the 4th quarter but Team USA, and especially Kobe Bryant, out-scored the Aussies 35-16 in the final quarter to take the win. Bryant (20 points) hit on 3 three-pointers to put clear daylight between the 2 teams. LeBron James also had a big game, recording a triple-double (11 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists), the 1st ever by a USA player at the Olympics. Australia were led by Patrick Mills (26 points), Joe Ingles (19 points) and Matthew Dellavedova (10, 1 Disc, BBC - Gaze/Case, PAL)
London Olympics Semi-Final - USA (109) v (83) Argentina - Team USA booked a place in their 2nd straight Olympic Final with a comfortable win over Argentina. Both teams were evenly matched in the 1st half, but Team USA pulled away in the 2nd half to take the win. USA were led by Kevin Durant (19 points), LeBron James (18 points) and Carmelo Anthony (18 points). Argentina were led by Manu Ginobli (18 points) (10, 1 Disc, BBC - Carlson/Amaechi, PAL)
London Olympics Final - USA (107) v (100) Spain - Team USA claimed their 2nd straight Olympic Gold medal with a tight win against the #2 ranked Spaniards. Both teams were evenly matched but the USA took advantage of late Spanish foul trouble to pull away in the final 2 minutes. The stars for the USA were Kevin Durant (30 points), LeBron James (19 points) and Kobe Bryant (17 points), in his final Olympic games. Spain were led by Pau Gasol (24 points) and Juan Carlos Navarro (21 points) (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Carlson/Amaechi, PAL)
2016
Rio Olympics Group A - USA (98) v (88) Australia - Australia gave the USA a shock in Rio, nearly pulling off a win, but the USA fought back with a big 2nd half to stay unbeaten in the group. Australia led 54-49 at the half, but the USA out-scored the Aussies 49-34 in the 2nd half to win. USA were led by Carmelo Anthony (31 points), Kyrie Irving (19 points) and Kevin Durant (14 points). Australia were led by Patty Mills (30 points) and Andrew Bogut (15 points). No Half-Time (10, 1 Disc, BBC - Sobral, PAL)
Rio Olympics Semi-Final - USA (82) v (76) Spain - The USA booked their place in the Gold medal game for the 3rd tournament in succession with a dominating win over the Spaniards. USA led for the entire match but couldn't find the killer touch to put away the Europeans. The difference in the teams was the rebounding, as USA out re-bounded Spain 53-41, led by DeAndre Jordan's 16. USA also featured Klay Thompson (22 points), Kevin Durant (14 points) and Kyrie Irving (13 points). Spain featured Pau Gasol (23 points) and Sergio Rodriguez (11 points, 5 assists). No Half-Time (10, 1 Disc, BBC - Carlson/Sobral, PAL)
Rio Olympics Final - USA (96) v (66) Serbia - The USA won their 3rd consecutive Gold medal with a dominating win over Serbia, extending their Olympic win streak to 25 games. After a tight 1st quarter, the USA over-run the Serbs in the 2nd quarter with a 33-14 run that effectively ended the game. USA featured Kevin Durant (30 points), DeMarcus Cousins (13 points, 15 rebounds) and Klay Thompson (12 points). Serbia featured Nemanja Nedovic (14 points) and Milan Macvan (11 points). Coverage includes the medal ceremony but no Half-Time (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Carlson/Sobral, PAL)
2021
Tokyo Olympics Group A - USA (76) v (83) France - In a mild upset, #7 seed France upset the tournament favourites and ended the American's 25-game win streak at the Olympics. The USA led for much of the match, but as the game entered the final 3.5 minutes, they lost their shooting touch, failing to convert a basket in open play. France out-scored USA 16-2 the rest of the way, including the go-ahead score with a minute to play, and held on for the win. France featured Evan Fournier (28 points), Rudy Gobert (14 points) and Nando de Colo (13 points). USA featured Jrue Holiday (18 points), Bam Adebayo (12 points) and Damian Lillard (11 points). Kevin Durant (10 points) was a non-factor after getting into early foul trouble (9, 1st quarter JIP 4:26, 1 Disc, BBC - Sobral, PAL)
Tokyo Olympics Final - USA (87) v (82) France - The USA avenged their Group stage loss to France with a hard-fought win in Saitama, and won their 4th straight Gold medal. Defense was the key as the USA forced 9 steals and 18 turnovers. The USA held off a 4th quarter rally by France, where the Europeans pulled to within 3 points, but 3 straight unanswered buckets pushed the USA back into an unassailable lead that they defended to the end. The star on Offense for the USA was Kevin Durant (29 points), who won his 3rd Gold medal, and he was supported by Jayson Tatum (19 points), Damain Lillard (11 points) and Jrue Holiday (11 points). France also featured Rudy Gobert (16 points, 8 rebounds), Evan Fournier (16 points) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (11 points). Coverage does not include the medal ceremony or Half-Time (9, 3rd quarter JIP 9:26 with baseball commentary upto 8:39, 1 Disc, BBC - ?/Sobral, PAL)