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[Music] [Applause] gold again for the USA. Nobody has been able to match them by the United States of America. Gold medalist in Sydney 2000, and the USA in some deep trouble right now. Since NBA players began taking part in the Olympics, back with the '92 Dream Team, team USA has predictably dominated, and the US leads 116-48. Seven points. It's just been too tough for rival countries to keep up with a nation whose C or D team might still be the most talented on paper. But there was one exception. The 2004 men's American Olympic team was the only one among the first seven NBA-led squads to not bring home the gold, settling for a bronze medal instead. They were also the only team of the first seven to lose even a single game of Olympic action, something they actually did three times in eight games. In basketball terms, it was an unmitigated disaster. So how did it all come together and ultimately fall apart? This is the story behind team USA's disappointing 2004 squad.
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To understand just how disappointing the 2004 was, and how jarring it was to see team USA struggle, you have to consider how untouchable the program seemed at the time. Through the first three Olympics featuring NBA talent, team USA went 24-0 in capturing another gold medal. In 2000, the Americans won their eight games by an average margin of 21.6 points. So while there was considerable roster turnover between the Sydney games and the 2004 games in Athens, and though the US did lose in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, no one was really expecting the Americans to be tested. The 2004 boasted only one All-NBA selection and two All-Stars from the previous season, but it was still an American ball team, headlined by Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson, with youngsters like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony joining the fold. Plus, Larry Brown, who served as an assistant under Rudy Tomjanovich in 2000, and who was coming off a 2004 NBA championship with the Pistons, was leading the charge. In hindsight, however, Brown was definitely not the right coach at the right time. With Richard Jefferson later saying Brown's presence was likely the reason a number of American stars declined the opportunity to play in the Olympics. It's worth noting that some players cited legitimate security concerns surrounding the Athens games as the reason they'd be skipping the festivities. For those that did commit for the summer of 2004, Brown's old-school approach began rubbing players the wrong way on team USA's pre-Olympic exhibition tour, according to reports. Shortly after the Americans beat Serbia in Serbia, Brown wanted Stephon Marbury, who he would coach a couple years later in New York, kicked off the team for complaining to media members that Brown wasn't letting his young team play freely. According to the Washington Post, Brown was also reportedly incensed about the way his team dressed for a team dinner, in contrast to a Serbian team that arrived in matching blazers. Those exhibition games were a warning of things to come, as though the US won five of six, they were also dismantled by Italy in Germany and needed an Iverson prayer at the buzzer to squeak by Germany.
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Nowitzki launching the three. USA has it in play in three seconds. Allen Iverson at the buzzer. United States has won. [Applause] Still, this was team USA in men's basketball at the Olympics. It would all work itself out and be fine in the end. Or not.
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The tournament tipped off with a Carlos Arroyo-led Puerto Rican side handing the US its most lopsided basketball loss in Olympic team history. Perhaps a more seasoned squad could have rebounded from being punched in the mouth like that. Perhaps a more willing coach would have adapted to the youngest American basketball team in Olympic history. But not this team. Not Brown. With stars like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, and Jason Kidd all kept from the games by either personal commitments or injury, and Kobe Bryant dealing with his rape charge back home, the Americans were left with a team in which half of its 12-man roster was under 24. Brown, meanwhile, rarely gave minutes to capable youngsters like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, or Amar'e Stoudemire, even as the coach complained about his roster and circumstances. Following the loss to Puerto Rico, Brown said he was humiliated and railed against the fact team USA didn't have enough prep time for the tournament. It wasn't exactly confidence-inducing. And then Commissioner David Stern even publicly admitted his disappointment in Brown. The US followed their stunning tournament opening loss by surviving scares from Greece and Australia before once again being upset in the group stage, this time by Lithuania. And the United States has lost to Lithuania for the first time. The United States men's basketball team loses twice in one Olympic Games. Through four games in Athens, the heavily favored Americans were two and two with a negative point differential and had had their asses handed to them by a royal and Sarunnis. Yes, Academicist. A predictable demolition of Angola in their final group stage game clinched a quarterfinal berth for the US. And when Marbury's 31 points helped hold off Pau Gasol's Spain side in the quarters, it suddenly seemed as though the ship could be righting. Perhaps the squad could even rally around a fiery Brown, who had to be held back from Spanish coach Mario Pascara after the quarterfinal buzzer. After a disastrous start to the tournament, team USA was now just one win from the final and two wins away from doing what every other NBA-led American team had done: capture gold. The most bitter disappointment was still to come, however, as a day after that US victory over Spain, Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andrés Nocioni, and a golden collection of Argentinian talent outclassed the disjointed Americans in the semifinals. No gold medal for the United States men. [Applause]
You might be starting to say there's a new era in Olympic basketball, and it's one in which the United States is no longer dominant. The US team saves face, or at least a fraction of its dignity, by rebounding to beat Lithuania for bronze. But there's no way American basketball fans can look back at that 2004 tournament and feel anything but embarrassment. Though he stood up for his team and represented his country admirably, Iverson shot 37% from the field over eight games. Duncan was nowhere near as dominant as he should have been. James averaged less than 12 minutes per game. Brown sought scapegoats everywhere but in the mirror. Through the first seven Olympic tournaments boasting NBA talent, team USA went 53-3, with all three losses coming in 2004. Though USA Basketball had quietly been on a downward trajectory for a couple years leading up to that tournament, the 2004 Olympics are largely seen as the moment the basketball world began to catch up to the basketball capital, as Argentina, Puerto Rico, Lithuania, and the US themselves proved that the monster does bleed. It was like a reverse Rocky-Drago situation. You had it. You heard it. You [Music]
The pitiful performance in Athens did lead to the dawn of a new dominant age for USA Basketball. Legendary NBA executive Jerry Colangelo took over the program in 2005 and subsequently cleaned house, with Mike Krzyzewski taking over coaching duties from Brown, while James and Bryant led a stacked 2008 team, aptly deemed the "Redeem Team," back to gold medal glory in Beijing. James, Wade, Anthony, and Carlos Boozer were the only holdovers from Athens. The US hasn't really looked vulnerable again until, well, now. But another dominant decade and a half still hasn't wiped away the memories or the humiliation of that 2004 summer. If Barcelona '92 was a dream, Athens '04 was the stuff of American nightmares. Thanks for watching. If you liked this video and want to see more content like this, be sure to hit that subscribe button.