The top 10 greatest moments in Olympic basketball history
From Vince Carter's "dunk of death" to the iconic gold medal contests at Paris 2024, the Games have been the stage for some of the biggest moments in basketball (and sports) history.
Basketball
Ever since basketball was officially added to the Olympic programme way back in 1936, the sport has delivered countless unforgettable moments that have become a part of the game's evolutionary fabric and inspired fans around the globe.
The basketball tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 provided the latest instalment to the ever-growing list of hoop highlights at the Games, though with such a catalogue to choose from, it did make the task of picking our 10 greatest moments in Olympic basketball history that much harder.
Nevertheless, we did manage to settle on a "final" (who knows what LA28 will bring?) list which is full of dunks, scoring records, huge upsets, and more—check it out below!
10. The Summer of the Women – Atlanta 1996
The Atlanta 1996 Olympics is sometimes referred to as the ‘Summer of the Women’ in the USA, with several of their female athletes winning golds at their home Games. The USA women’s basketball team was possibly the icing on the cake.
The team had won gold at the 1984 and 1998 Olympics, but fell short in 1992, winning bronze.
At the 1996 Atlanta Games, they had veteran Teresa Edwards and stars like Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes. They topped Group B with 10 points, entering the knockout phase with an undefeated record.
The Americans then beat Japan in the last eight and Australia in the semis.
In the final, the USA women’s basketball team faced Brazil, also on an unbeaten run. The USA pulled off a 111-87 victory to reclaim the gold medal. The team's journey at their home games was hugely significant for women's basketball in the USA, as the Women's National Basketball Association was yet to be founded. Their games drew big crowds and inspired future generations, and also marked the start of an unbelievable gold medal-winning streak at the Olympic Games—a trend that continued at Paris 2024.
9. The other Dream Team: Lithuania’s stunning journey to Olympic bronze – Barcelona 1992
Lithuania’s men's basketball team made headlines for their journey to the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country lacked the funds to send its team to Barcelona.
Team Lithuania celebrates after winning the bronze at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
The team turned to fundraising efforts and received a boost from the Grateful Dead, an American rock band, who read about the team's plight in a local newspaper and subsequently funded their trip to Barcelona.
American Artist Greg Speirs also contributed by creating the now-iconic tie-dye t-shirts that featured a dunking skeleton, made in the colours of the Lithuanian flag.
The team itself boasted a plethora of talent, including future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Arvydas Sabonis, but it still came as a shock when Lithuania won the bronze medal after defeating the Unified Team (a joint team consisting of twelve of the fifteen former Soviet republics that chose to compete together) in the third place play-off.
In one of the defining moments of Barcelona 1992—and the Olympic Games as a whole—the team stepped onto the podium to recieve their medals wearing those same tie-dye shirts, providing a wonderful ending to a story of perseverance that turned the Lithuanian players into folk heroes and inspired a new generation of European basketball talent.
8. Lauren Jackson sets the women's scoring record – London 2012
Lauren Jackson is a legend of women's basketball, as shown through numerous awards and accolades that include (but not limited to):
- Two WNBA championships (2004, 2010)
- Three WNBA MVPs (2003, 2007, 2010)
- Seven All-WNBA First Team selections (2003-2007, 2009, 2010)
- Five Olympic medals (silver at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008; bronze at London 2012 and Paris 2024)
- Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2021)
The 6-foot-5 forward possessed a world-class ability to score, whether playing in the WNBA or for her native Australia.
Jackson made her Olympic debut at Sydney 2000, helping the Opals win silver while leading the tournament in blocks per game (2.4) and averaging the fourth-most points per contest (15.9).
She continued her hot shooting at subsequent Games in Athens and Beijing before breaking the all-time Olympic scoring record in women's basketball at London 2012; Jackson scored 12 points in a win over the People's Republic of China to give her 536 points, surpassing Brazilian Janeth Arcain’s 535 points, set from 1992-2004.
Jackson wasn't done there, however, and continued to play at three more Games. At Paris 2024, she became the oldest player to take to an Olympic basketball court after she stepped out for the Opals in their opener against Nigeria at the age of 43 years and 79 days.
After winning bronze in Paris (her fifth Olympic medal), Jackson hung up her sneakers for good, leaving an indomitable legacy in her wake.
7. Oscar Schmidt's multiple Olympic records
If you don't know anything about Oscar Schmidt, his incredible nickname—"Mão Santa” (Holy Hand)—sheds light on just how prolific a scorer the 6-foot-9 Brazilian was.
Across five Olympic Games (1980–1996), Schmidt scored a record 1,093 points—over 300 more than Andrew Gaze (AUS) in the all-time rankings.
But that's just one of numerous records Schmidt holds.
At the 1988 Games in Seoul, Schmidt set 10 Olympic records, including most points in a game (55), most total points at one Olympics (338), highest scoring average (42.3), most three-pointers made, most field goals made and most free throws made.
Despite never winning a medal, Schmidt's performances at the Games made him a basketball icon. Likely, no one will ever come close to surpassing any of Schmidt's records, solidifying his status as an Olympic legend.
6. Diana Taurasi wins a record sixth gold medal – Paris 2024
Arguably the crowning moment of Taurasi's international career, the 42-year-old broke a tie with longtime American teammate Sue Bird for most gold medals in Olympic basketball history when she and the USA women's team reigned supreme at Paris 2024.
That victory was Taurasi's sixth at the Games, but unlike the previous five Olympics she had been a part of, the three-time WNBA champion rarely saw the court in France (she didn't play in the gold medal game). However, the experience she's gained over a career spanning more than two decades, which has included multiple world and WNBA championships, was no doubt invaluable to the U.S. squad in Paris—particularly in the nail-biting final against hosts France (more on that below).
5. Argentina upsets the USA – Athens 2004
The USA were the heavy favourites heading into the men's basketball tournament at Athens 2004, with three consecutive gold medals and a squad replete with NBA stars adding weight to the argument that the Olympic title was once again theirs to lose.
However, two defeates in group play (only the third and fourth losses for the men's team in Olympic history) showed there were cracks in the armour. The USA got back on track with a 102-94 win against Spain in the quarter-finals, setting up a semi-final clash with Argentina—who were making just their fourth apperance in Olympic competition.
The USA were expected to easily sweep El Alma Argentina aside, but Manu Ginóbili had other ideas.
The San Antonio Spur put on a basketball masterclass, scoring 29 points to lead Argentina to a stunning 89-81 victory that shocked the world.
The USA would end up winning the bronze medal, while Argentina beat Italy in the final to win their first (and only) gold medal in the men's Olympic tournament.
The Golden Generation was born.
4. Men's gold medal game – Beijing 2008
The Beijing 2008 men's final between Spain and the USA is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball games ever played, and with good reason.
La Roja, led by Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernandez, took on a powerhouse USA squad loaded with talent, including NBA legends Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade.
The USA group in Beijing were nicknamed the "Redeem Team", a play on the "Dream Team" name for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and a reference to the fact that the United States came away with disappointing bronze medals during the Athens 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
The game itself was a nailbiter, with neither side able to build a significant lead and pull away.
With less than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the USA leading by just two points, Bryant and Wade hit a pair of threes to extend the lead to 103-92. But Spain refused to quit, and another three from Carlos Jimenez capped a run that brought the score to 108-104 with two minutes reamining.
But a pair of huge shots from Wade and Bryant extended the lead back to 9, and the USA were able to hold on for 118-107 win, bringing an end to a game that will live on in basketball and Olympic folklore.
3. The epic men's & women's gold medal games – Paris 2024
In a rare and thrilling twist, the gold medal matchups for both the men’s and women’s tournaments at Paris 2024 featured the same two nations: hosts France, and the mighty USA.
The men's final came first, on Saturday 10 August, and what a game it was.
In a deafeningly-loud Bercy Arena, the two titans exchanged massive body blows, with no team able to build more than a 5-point lead at the end of any quarter. Victor Wembanyama starred for Les Blues, recording 26 points and 7 rebounds, while Guerschon Yabusele had the play of the competition with a monster dunk over LeBron James.
Yet it was Steph Curry, playing in his first Olympics, who won all the plaudits with an unreal shooting performance from behind the arc. The 36-year-old went nuclear in the final two and a half minutes, draining four of his eight three-pointers to shut down a promising French comeback and secure a 98-87 win for the USA. Curry has subsequently called his final shot, an incredible heave with multiple French defenders in his face that was dubbed the "Golden Dagger", as the No.1 3-pointer in his career.
Not to be outdone, the women's final the following day was equally (if not more) thrilling.
The venue was once again Bercy Arena, packed to the rafters with a raucous crowd.
Team USA were fighting for history; if they could beat France, they would become the first team, regardless of gender or sport, to win eight straight Olympic golds.
But France weren't going to make it easy for their vaunted opponents, proceeding to put on a defensive masterclass by limiting the USA to 34 per cent shooting from the field.
At one stage in the third quarter Les Bleus led by 10 points, but the USA used every ounce of their experience gained from 60 consecutive victories in international play to chip away at the defecit and eventually take a three point lead.
A'ja WIlson was phenomeal for the USA, leading all players with 21 points and 13 rebounds, but it was Gabby Williams who came so close to sending the game into overtime; her long jump shot as time expired was good, but with her foot just inside the arc the basket was ruled a two instead of a three, and the USA walked away with a 67-66 win and a 10th Olympic title.
2. Vince Carter’s "Dunk of Death" – Sydney 2000
For a single play to be ranked so highly among every Olympic basketball moment, it must be something extraordinary.
But that's just what Vince Carter's dunk over Frédéric Weis at the Sydney 2000 Games was—a play so groundbreaking, so astounding, that it will live on for eternity, immortalised in highlight reels that are viewed by hoops fans to this day.
For context, Carter is 6-foot-6, while Weis towered over him at 7-foot-2. But Carter possessed a jaw-dropping 43-inch vertical leap, which he used to full effect as he soared up and over the Frenchman to execute the now-famous "Le Dunk de la mort" (the Dunk of Death).
On the 15th anniversary of the dunk, Weis said that Carter "deserves to make history. Sadly for me, I was on the video, too. I learned people can fly."
The USA would go on to win the gold medal in Sydney (in a rematch against France, as it turns out), but such is the lastic impact of Carter's dunk that the team's victory has barely become a footnote in the history of those Games.
1. The Dream Team takes over – Barcelona 1992
The 1992 U.S. "Dream Team" was the first Olympic squad to feature NBA players, and is universally regarded as the greatest basketball team ever assembled (some even describe the team as the greatest sports team ever assembled).
With superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Scottie Pippen on the roster, the Dream Team didn’t just win gold—they redefined global basketball.
The Dream Team dominated their opponents in Barcelona, winning by an average margin of 44 points per game.Their 117-85 gold medal victory over Croatia was the exclamation mark on a tournament that captivated the world and sparked a global basketball boom, inspiring future stars like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and Manu Ginóbili to take up the game.
The team was collectively inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. In addition to the team induction, 11 players and three coaches have also been inducted individually into the Naismith Hall of Fame.