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
Davis Nickle
Despite being a native of San Antonio and a fan of the Spurs, I really did not know much about the man that is Manu Ginobili. I knew he was from Argentina but I had no clue that he participated in the Olympics and I also did not know that he participated against and helped defeat the US team! This article managed to be both very informative and interesting, Well done!
Juliana Montoya
I love anything to do with sports, especially when the story is about the underdogs. The story of the Argentinians denying the Americans the gold medal is a very motivational story and one that is very inspiring. The intensity of the story was also something that kept me hooked.
Andres Ruiz
The Argentine victory over the spurs is a day that will live on in infamy through out all Spurs-dom. Their utter defeat at the hands of that team would lead them to later pick up Manu for their team. An interesting story to be sure, and one that will not soon be forgot!
Nathaniel Bielawski
Your sports commentary skills are very good! You should consider becoming a sports commentator on ESPN! Before reading this article, I had no idea that Manu Ginobili played for Argentina. I always thought that the USA dominated basketball in the Olympics, but I can see Ginobili destroying all the competition in his way. After winning the gold, Ginobili’s career skyrocketed, and would become a Spurs player for San Antonio.
Matthew Avila
I don’t really watch basketball but reading this reminded me of a Spurs game I watched a couple of months ago against the Mavs. it was really intense and a close game like he one here against Team USA. I never really known about Ginobili’s background until reading this, this would’ve been an amazing game to watch since he pulled Argentina to victory!
Nelly Perez
Argentina and the USA had a tied record of four wins and two losses. Argentina made history by earning a gold medal for the first time after defeating Italy. There were many players on the team, but Manu stuck out the most. Team USA won every game, meaning Argentina would use this opportunity to test their strengths. The team worked very hard.
Hali Garcia
I really enjoyed this article. I might not be a native San Antonian, but I really love the Spurs, and I am a big fan of Manu Ginobili. I liked how you wrote this article because it felt like I was there. When my family and I would be watching Ginobili play, my grandmother would always mention the 2004 Olympic Games and how Argentina was the underdogs. It is interesting to hear how they had won against Italy and the United States, to their shock.
Thiffany Yeupell
Quite the upset for the United States at the hand of Ginobili for Argentina’s team. For the nation to be a reigning champion for 16 years, only to meet their downfall and place bronze might be disheartening for the US. But I can only imagine how ecstatic Argentina must have been when their team won against the US, and eventually earned Gold in the end. It is quite the feat and remains to be a memorable achievement, with thanks to Ginobili and his steady game.
Kendall Guajardo
This was a really eye catching story. The title was interesting and all of the back and forth descriptions really pulled the reader in. The style of writing made me feel like I was being told this story for the first time. I am not really a die hard fan of basketball but I do know of some key players. That is such an amazing achievement to win an NBA championship, Olympic gold medal, and a EuroLeague title. I think the story really highlighted his abilities to lead a team even when the odds were not in their favor.
Giselle Garcia
I really enjoyed reading this article about Manu Ginobili’s win over Team USA and soon after securing a gold medal in the Olympics. Being a native San Antonian, I am familiar with Ginobili but I never looked into discovering how his team defeated Team USA. It was a nice feel-good story about underdogs securing the win over a team that has won consistently for several years. I liked especially how the game was described in detail and I could really feel the emotions and tensions throughout the game.