Olympics Men's Basketball: Top 5 performances of all time in gold medal games
Men's basketball at the Summer Olympics is always an interesting discipline to follow, as the tournament has increasingly become more competitive with other countries trying to catch the USA and their NBA superstars.
Since NBA players were allowed in 1992, the USA has won each time, except for Athens 2004 when Manu Ginóbili and Argentina stepped in. Still, there have been some close games that provoked stunning performances from some highly talented basketball players.
Top five performances of all time in gold medal games of Olympics Men's Basketball
In the most recent tournament, we saw amazing performances by several players, including Slovenian Luka Doncic, Australian Patty Mills, and Spaniard Ricky Rubio. Kevin Durant of the USA was named the tournament's MVP for his efforts throughout the championship and leading the USA to the gold medal.
Durant had a solid performance in the gold medal game against France, and it was not the first time in his career performing tremendously at such state.
In this article, we will give you the five best individual efforts in the gold medal game in the men's basketball category at the summer Olympics.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Luis Scola - 2004 Olympics Men's Basketball
Argentina was the last team to stop the USA from dominating men's basketball at the Olympics and the only nation to win the tournament apart from the USA since 1992.
Ginóbili and Argentina's 'Golden Generation', with players like Luis Scola, schockingly defeated a good United States team in the semifinals, before beating Italy for the gold medal.
In their 84-69 victory over Italy to secure gold, Luis Scola scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also made 10 of his 13 field goals and made all five attempts from the free-throw line.
#4 Arvydas Sabonis - 1988 Olympics Men's Basketball
Arvydas Sabonis is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, mainly due to his exploits internationally. Although he was a solid NBA player, Sabonis' international career was extraordinary.
In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Sabonis helped the then Soviet Union win the gold medal after defeating Yugoslavia 76-63 in the final. The center had 20 points and 15 rebounds (the opposing team had only 21 rebounds).
Sabonis made eight of his 14 attempts from the field and four of his five free throws in the game. He won three Olympic medals in his career, the gold medal from 1988 with the Soviet Union and two bronze medals with Lithuania.