2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The men's national basketball team of the United States competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The team was led by future Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown.

The Americans were favored to win the gold medal, after winning the previous three tournaments. However, the team won only bronze, while losing three games against its opponents, the most games ever lost by a U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. This was the second time that Team USA won the bronze medal, having also done so at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Team USA lost its opening game to Puerto Rico by 19 points, which stands as the largest margin of defeat for the U.S. in the Olympics. It ended their 24-game Olympic winning streak since (/wiki/1992UnitedStatesmen'sOlympicbasketballteam), when National Basketball Association (NBA) players were first allowed to compete. The team also lost a group stage game to Lithuania and the semi-final game to Argentina. In addition, the U.S. lost a friendly preparation game prior to the Olympics, against Italy, by a score of 95–78.

Roster

2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

Team USA members warming up at Belgrade Arena before their preparation game versus Serbia and Montenegro in August 2004.

The following is the United States roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

<table><thead><tr><th>United States men's national basketball team – 2004 Summer Olympics roster</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Players</td><td>Coaches</td></tr><tr><td>Pos.</td><td>No.</td><td>Name</td><td>Age – Date of birth</td><td>Height</td><td>Club</td><td>Ctr.</td></tr><tr><td>G</td><td>4</td><td>Allen Iverson (C)</td><td>29 – 7 June 1975</td><td>1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)</td><td>Philadelphia 76ers</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>G</td><td>5</td><td>Stephon Marbury</td><td>27 – 20 February 1977</td><td>1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)</td><td>New York Knicks</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>G</td><td>6</td><td>Dwyane Wade</td><td>22 – 17 January 1982</td><td>1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)</td><td>Miami Heat</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>7</td><td>Carlos Boozer</td><td>22 – 20 November 1981</td><td>2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)</td><td>Cleveland Cavaliers</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>8</td><td>Carmelo Anthony</td><td>20 – 29 May 1984</td><td>2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)</td><td>Denver Nuggets</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>9</td><td>LeBron James</td><td>19 – 30 December 1984</td><td>2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)</td><td>Cleveland Cavaliers</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>10</td><td>Emeka Okafor</td><td>21 – 28 September 1982</td><td>2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)</td><td>UConn Huskies</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>11</td><td>Shawn Marion</td><td>26 – 7 May 1978</td><td>2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)</td><td>Phoenix Suns</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>12</td><td>Amar'e Stoudemire</td><td>21 – 16 November 1982</td><td>2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)</td><td>Phoenix Suns</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>13</td><td>Tim Duncan (C)</td><td>28 – 25 April 1976</td><td>2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)</td><td>San Antonio Spurs</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>14</td><td>Lamar Odom</td><td>24 – 6 November 1979</td><td>2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)</td><td>Miami Heat</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>G</td><td>15</td><td>Richard Jefferson</td><td>24 – 21 June 1980</td><td>2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)</td><td>New Jersey Nets</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

After the United States finished in sixth place in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the Americans overhauled their roster for the 2003 FIBA Tournament of the Americas in Puerto Rico, where they needed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics. The team cruised to a first-place finish at the Americas Championship, and earned a spot in Athens, Greece, the following summer. However, the only players from the 2003 squad to compete in the Olympics were Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, and Richard Jefferson; the rest of the team opted out. Newcomers to the team included young players LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Emeka Okafor. The team featured just one All-NBA selection (Duncan) and two All-Stars (Duncan and Iverson) from the prior NBA season, which are both all-time lows for a U.S. Olympic team since NBA players were first allowed in (/wiki/1992UnitedStatesmen'sOlympicbasketballteam). Team USA was coached by Larry Brown, who was coming off a championship in the 2004 NBA Finals.

Summary

2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

The United States struggled with its outside shooting, finishing the tournament ranked last in three point field goals made (5.5 per game) and 11th in percentage (31.4) out of 12 teams. They also struggled defensively.

The team's loss to Puerto Rico was just the third in U.S. Olympic men's basketball history. Their two previous losses were both to the Soviet Union ((/wiki/1972UnitedStatesmen'sOlympicbasketballteam) and (/wiki/1988UnitedStatesmen'sOlympicbasketballteam)), with six having been the largest margin of defeat.

<table><thead><tr><th>Game</th><th>Opponent</th><th>Result</th><th>Point diff</th><th>Round</th><th>Notes</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Puerto Rico</td><td>L 73–92</td><td>-19</td><td>Group Play</td><td>Team's third and biggest Olympic loss</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> Greece</td><td>W 77–71</td><td>+6</td><td>Group Play</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Australia</td><td>W 89–79</td><td>+10</td><td>Group Play</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Lithuania</td><td>L 90–94</td><td>-4</td><td>Group Play</td><td>Team's fourth Olympic loss</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Angola</td><td>W 89–53</td><td>+36</td><td>Group Play</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td> Spain</td><td>W 102–94</td><td>+8</td><td>Quarterfinals</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td> Argentina</td><td>L 81–89</td><td>-8</td><td>Semifinals</td><td>Team's fifth Olympic loss</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td> Lithuania</td><td>W 104–96</td><td>+8</td><td>Bronze Final</td><td>US wins bronze medal</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Tournament totals: 5–3 record; 88 points per game; +4.6 average point differential</td></tr></tbody></table>

Statistical leaders

2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Allen Iverson	Philadelphia 76ers	13.8
Rebounds per game	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	9.1
Assists per game	Stephon Marbury	New York Knicks	3.4
Steals per game	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	2.1
Blocks per game	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	1.3
FG%	Carlos Boozer	Utah Jazz	.625

Records broken

2004 United States men's Olympic basketball team

• Stephon Marbury scored 31 points and hit a record six three-pointers against Spain. • Team USA shot 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) 3-pointers in that same game.