Argentina did it! They have stunned the basketball world by becoming the first national team to deny American professional players the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.1 Argentina went on to earn its first and only gold medal as they defeated Italy by 15 points in the finals, thanks to the stellar performance by the legendary San Antonio Spurs guard, Emanuel (Manu) Ginobili. ‘Manu’ (as his fans call him) along with his teammates stood upon the podium, garnished with flowers, in pure ecstasy, as they each received a 2004 gold medal. The crowd displaying their approval with roaring chants of “Ole!”2 Meanwhile, the disappointment of being defeated by the underdog still haunts legends like Allen Iverson. In an interview about the 2004 Olympics, Iverson said, “It always haunts me because my dream was to win a gold medal, but the way I look at life is, the things that I’ve accomplished, people where I’m from don’t even get to the doorstep of doing anything like that. So I thank God that I had the opportunity to do it, but yeah, it still bothered me”.3
Coming into the semi-finals, both teams, Argentina and USA, had a record of 4 wins and two losses. Team USA was stacked with superstars, featuring two NBA League MVPs such as Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson, along with the talented cast of Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Stephon Marbury, just to name a few. Although Argentine players Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto, Pepe Sanchez, Carlos Delfino, Walter Herrmann, Andres Nocioni and Ruben Wolkowyski would go on to play in the NBA, in summer 2004, they only had one active NBA player, Manu Ginobili.4 For over a decade, Team USA had continually dominated the international basketball scene. They had not lost an Olympic gold medal since 1988. Argentina, the clear underdog, knew this would be an incredible test for their team. From the beginning of the game Argentina’s chemistry was on display, zipping passes back and forth to get the best shots available. During the close 1st quarter, Ginobili asserted his dominance by answering every Team USA move to score with an acrobatic layup of its own. During the competitive 2nd quarter, Argentina was hanging right there with Team USA as a result of the cohesive Argentinian team plays. Tim Duncan’s presence was felt early on, dominating the low post with defense, rebounds and layups. However, as the game went on, Duncan saw less play time as he became immersed in foul troubles, for aggressively countering the Argentines’ plays. This was an immense loss for Team USA. As a result at the end of the second quarter, Argentina was able to secure a 5 point lead. In the third quarter, Ginobili came out firing, nailing 3 three pointers while being fouled on the last one making it a 4 point transformation. At the end of the third quarter, Argentina had a 13 point lead over Team USA, the crowd murmurs grew louder: could Argentina possibly win? Could Team USA really lose in the semi-finals? Team USA was not giving up, cutting the lead in 4th quarter down to seven points with the help of Stephon Marbury. However, Manu made all the right moves, assisting his teammates with perfect passes consistently leading to more points. On that day, Tim Duncan might have liked to have Manu on Team USA. However, due to section 41 of the Olympic Charter, regarding the nationality of competitors, Ginobili could not represent the United States, he was instead the captain of the Argentine Team.5
Argentina won, which for the fist time in 16 years kept Team USA from participating in the Basketball Olympic Finals. Argentina, lead by the fearless Manu Ginobili, ended the winning streak of Team USA. Manu recorded a game high of 29 points, making an incredibly efficient 9 of 13 shots.6 Although, victory for Argentina was not yet cemented. Now, Argentina had to face Italy in the finals, against whom they had lost during the preliminary rounds of the tournament 75-76.7 Thus, the Argentine players came in extremely focused. The first three quarters, they went back and forth battling tit for tat. In the fourth quarter, Argentina broke away and was able to build a lead thanks to the incredible performance by Ginobili and Scola combining for 41 total points of the team’s 84, etching the team in history.8
Team USA was not too familiar with anything besides gold, until that day in the summer of 2004. Argentina secured the gold, Italy the silver, and to everyone’s surprise, Team USA had to settle for the bronze (let’s not forget still making them 3rd in the world which would be a great achievement for any team but stunned the USA). This revolutionized international basketball because the basketball community realized the impossible really was possible. Manu Ginobili was a second round late draft pick of whom so few had ever heard. Yet Manu ended his career as a 1st ballot Basketball Hall of Famer. He is only one of two players in the history of basketball to win an NBA Championship, a EuroLeague title, and an Olympic gold medal.9
- Gilbert McGregor, “ON THIS DATE: Manu Ginobili leads Argentina past Team USA at 2004 Olympics,” August 27, 2018, NBA, https://ca.nba.com/news/2004-olympics-argentina-basketball-manu-ginobili-shock-team-usa-semifinal-athens/1vsoc9jlt30k31knbl9z4t5ymx. ↵
- Associated Press, “Ginobili scores 29 for Argentina,” August 27, 2004, ESPN, https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer04/basketball/news/story?id=1869300. ↵
- Joseph Patrick, “NBA Hall Of Famer Admits 2004 Olympic Basketball Debacle Still Haunts Him,” International Business Times, (September 3, 2019). ↵
- “Argentina v USA – Semi Final, Athens 2004 – Condensed Game, Throwback Thursday,” video file, 24:54, Youtube, posted by Olympic, October 26, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb7jKtVGZe8. ↵
- “Olympic Charter,” September 2019, International Olympic Committee, https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf. ↵
- “United States vs. Argentina, August 27, 2004 – Semi-Finals,” August 27, 2004, Basketball Reference, https://www.basketball-reference.com/olympics/games/2004-08-27-USA-ARG/. ↵
- “How Argentina became Men’s Basketball Olympic Champions,” video file, 4:17, Youtube, posted by Olympic, September 11, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrbn5ZtGFIA&t=69s. ↵
- 2004 Olympics Final, Argentina-Italy: Ginobili/Scola (41 pts), 1st Olympic Gold (The NBA Showtime). ↵
- NBA.com Staff, “Looking back on Ginobili’s basketball legacy,” March 28, 2019, NBA, https://www.nba.com/article/2019/03/26/manu-ginobili-best-career-moments-videos. ↵
54 comments
Nadia Manitzas
Seeing Manu’s journey in Argentina and his basketball career is one you can never forget. Growing up watching him play for the Spurs, his determination and hard work in both America and Argentina made him role model for many kids in my generation. This story of his 2004 Olympics was one of the many games he played where he was considered the “best” in the world. He’s truly an inspiration for basketball players and aspiring players of the game.
Micheal Baladez
Growing up in the heart of Texas, I pretty much became familiar with the legendary athlete that is Manu Ginobli. However, I did not know of his Argentinian origins until my early teens, and because of this, I did not know of the time that he led the Argentina National Basketball team to defeat the Basketball powerhouse of the United States. This defeat was the first time that the United had ever felt such a crushing blow to their pristine talents. However, this inspired international basketball players around the world to go after the sport, and thus led to an influx of new players from all walks of life. Manu is without a doubt one of the best basketball players of our “recent” memory. This talent will undoubtedly lead to him becoming a recognized member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. incredible article, and thank you for giving me a reminder about how incredible this man is.
Jake Faryniarz
Manu was a spectacular athlete to watch play basketball. It is always shocking to me that the United States actually lost to Argentina just because of how much basketball talent America has compared to most of the world. Manu Ginobili as the Team Captain of Argentina during the 2004 Olympics led his team and country to the gold medal upsetting the previous champions America for the first time. This inspired international basketball players around the world and grew the sports. Manu was one of the beat players to play basketball and for that reason will possibly make him a Hall of Famer one day.
Christian Lopez
For an athlete that changed the view of basketball for international players in modern basketball. Not just on the court he was a figure that many in the United states and Argentina looked up to. By being the reason for such a monumental upset this further solidified his place as one of the best players to set foot on a court.
Eric Hernandez
I enjoyed every single detail of this article. Of course I knew Manu was good, but I never knew to this extent. It was so crazy to hear such an amazing underdog story, especially with the main character being one of my favorite basketball players. I also really enjoyed reading some of the other NBA players thoughts of how Manu and his team plowed through the other Olympic teams.
Reynaldo Rodriguez
Being born and raised in Texas I quickly grew to love basketball and one team in specific being the San Antonio Spurs. I have so many memories of sitting down in front of the television or actually going to the games and watching Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili play basketball like no other team has ever been able to replicate. I love watching the 2004 games on video because I get to watch this underdog story led by one of my favorite players being Manu leading the charge against team USA. Leading his team to victory solidified Manu as one of the most dedicated players to ever play the game of basketball .He is loved and respected by everyone in San Antonio for helping the team reach many championship titles. The chemistry that he had with the Argentinian team as well as the Spurs would make him a legend which deserves a spot on the Hall of fame.
Citlalli Rivera
As a San Antonian, I am a loyal San Antonio Spurs fan and have been able to witness Manu’s greatest achievements. Seeing Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili face off against each other is odd because, back at their home court in the AT&T center, they are more brothers than teammates. In San Antonio, he provides his fans with uproar and pride each time he leads the team to victory so I could only imagine how proud his country was when he lead the nation to gold.
Emmett Pena
Manu Ginobili has proven himself time and time again that when he is needed the most, he is there to give his 110% effort. Coming hot off of the previous year winning his first NBA championship, Manu Ginobili is recognized throughout the NBA that he is not a force to be reckoned with. The winning of his gold medal solidifies that he is not just any other foreign player, but that he deserves a place among the all-time greats of the NBA.
Alexis Lopez
Being from San Antonio I’m a huge San Antonio Spurs fan. I enjoy reading anything and everything related to the Spurs or the big three. The title of this article drew me in automatically because it had Manu’s name and from what I know lyrics from a song. Which put two things that I like together. I was able to picture the game because of the way Shriji perfectly described the setting and outcome of the game. Everyone loves a good underdog story and Manu Ginobili and the Argentinian team was able to provide that for us with great chemistry and teamwork. It might have been a shop USA but it was win for the city of San Antonio also with Manu representing both the Spurs and Argentina, which I think is really cool. This article was a fun read but also very informative.
Aracely Beltran
Great article! I never pay attention to sports however my family is a huge fan of the spurs. Therefore, when they play everyone comes and watches the games. I remember growing up I just knew that the teammates that made the “Spurs” were Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan. Ginobili has become such a huge inspiration for my family members so it was nice to learn about him.