One of the best basketball games ever, but how many people actually saw it?

[sohi 23]

Great Article:

[h1]THE SPORTS GUY[/h1] [h2]Is it a classic if no one is watching?
Guess you'll have to take my word for it.[/h2]

by Bill Simmons

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

I can't let the Gold-Medal Game go. USA 118, Spain 107. One of the 10 most dramatic basketball games of my lifetime. And nobody gave a crap or even knew. The game started at 2:30 in the morning ET and vanished into thin air. Only West Coasters and super-diehards stayed up to see it. Everyone else woke up Sunday, heard the score, caught the highlights and never thought about it again.

When was the last time a truly great sporting event completely slipped through the cracks? That never happens anymore. Ever! I feel about 3% cooler just for being one of the few who watched it live.

Consider the following:

• You do realize that all those points were scored in 40 minutes, right? This was like a Nuggets-Spurs game in 1978, only this time there was a gold medal at stake, so everyone was playing out of their minds. The two teams combined to make 41 of 65 field goals, 13 of 22 threes and 35 of 41 free throws-in the first half.

• The Spaniards hung with America's finest even though a) star point José Calderón was injured; b) star scorer Rudy Fernández battled foul trouble all game; and c) they made the goofy decision to play with first names on the backs of their jerseys (shades of Cadwallader University in Fast Break). So how did they hang around? They got a few sneaky baskets on back doors and high screens. Fernández (22 points in 18 minutes) hit a few bombs. The U.S. needed a fire extinguisher to put out Juan Carlos Navarro, who made an absurd collection of floaters, runners and you-gotta-be-kidding-mes. And in the upset of the century, the Gasol Bros. (32 points) totally overwhelmed Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh inside.

(You heard me, the Gasol Bros.! On the Black Sheep Brother Scale, Marc moved out of a three-way deadlock with Don Swayze and Jeremy Giambi after this game. He still has a little way to go to catch Frank Stallone, though.)

• Ricky Rubio started for Calderón and was solid, if not great. But the feat itself? Do I need to remind you he's the same age as Jamie Lynn Spears? Imagine Team USA picking Chris Paul and a high school kid as its point guards, then Paul missing the gold-medal game and the teenager holding his own? How many commercials would he be filming right now? Twenty? The nonstop Pistol Pete comparisons are beneath Rubio; his defensive instincts, playmaking and athleticism bring him closer to a hybrid of Scottie Pippen and a young Magic-if they happened to look like one of the Jonas Brothers. I love Ricky to the point that I might move to whatever NBA city gets him. You think I'm kidding.

• Dwyane Wade's 27 points off the bench. I forgot how much I missed him. When a Spaniard tripped Wade at the end of the first half it sent me (and whichever other Americans were still up) into full-fledged "Oh, you want a piece of us, Spain?!" mode. It was just the extra motivation I needed. Why? Rooting for Kobe and Coach K is like rooting for the house in blackjack. It never stops feeling wrong, and you never stop secretly wanting to turn on them. When Nike brilliantly used Marvin Gaye's rendition of the national anthem in its commercial, I was pretty much swayed; you could have talked me into caring about a team featuring Kevin Federline, Jimmy Fallon and Spencer Pratt after that. But some scrub from Spain nearly blowing out Wade's knee? It was on.

• You can't beat three incompetent FIBA refs speaking different languages for providing an I-hope-this-doesn't-turn-out-like-the-last-three-seconds-of-the-'72-Olympic-gold-medal-game edge. Just when Spain was fading, Fernández caught the on-fires from Navarro and YouTubed Howard with a hellacious dunk. But he fouled out on an egregious touch foul (Kobe's game-altering four-point play), and Spain cried conspiracy after. Problem is, those bozos called a whopping 55 fouls and looked more wobbly than a 93-year-old backing out of a driveway. Fun wrinkle, especially if you wanted to have a two-hour heart attack.

• Not one, not two but three festering Team USA weaknesses bubbled up. First, they lacked a KG-like defender who could patrol the paint and fix every lapse on D, as well as a Bruce Bowen-like perimeter stopper to squash high screens. And guess what: The Swayzes worked over the Howard/Bosh combo, and Navarro killed the U.S. on the same high screen at least 45 times. The suits spent more than two years picking this team and failed to find the only two defenders they needed? Really?

Second, Coach K kept starting a washed-up Jason Kidd (can't shoot, can't play slash-and-kick) over Chris Paul and Deron Williams (only the two best American point guards right now). This was the elephant in the room for two weeks. Kidd would tread water, and Paul and Williams would wreak havoc. Meanwhile, Coach K pretended it wasn't happening, and NBC's Mike Breen and Doug Collins totally ducked the issue. Only when Spain threatened in the second half did Paul and Williams alternate playing the final 16 minutes because, you know, K realized he actually needed to win the game. The good news: He gets to deduct the charity minutes he gave Kidd at tax time.

Third, for most of the Games, Team USA had an alpha dog issue. Was this Kobe's team or LeBron's? Fast-forward to 8:13 left: Fernández's three cuts the lead to two; the crowd is going bonkers. Spain's bench reacts like a euphoric 15-seed during a March Madness upset, and the U.S. calls timeout. All along, my biggest fear had been a tight game and multiple USA guys saying, "I got it!" Instead, everyone deferred to Kobe, who made some monster plays to clinch it. Know that in the history of the NBA we have never had the best-player-alive argument resolved so organically. Incredible. Kobe, you have the Lord of the Flies conch. Use it wisely.

• Had the Americans blown this one, the Choke Job Hall of Fame would have a new wing. Kobe, Bron, Wade and Coach K would have been stained forever (not to mention Howard, whose stock slipped at a Bear Stearns speed in the medal round). Imagine the pressure on Team USA during that timeout. After all the rhetoric and BS, after all the hype about choosing the right team, everything was slipping away. Could there be more pressure than that? I say no.

Yeah, they just barely prevailed over an opponent they should have beaten handily. This was still the most dramatic non-Phelps moment of the Olympics. I know one person who attended the game (my friend Hirschy, an NBA nut) who spent 20 minutes recapping it a week later, repeatedly telling me, "You had to be there-this was tense!" No kidding.

I could tell that at the final buzzer, when 12 filthy rich grown-ups began to celebrate like Little Leaguers. No posturing, fake crying or rehearsed dance routines, just hugging and more hugging. We wanted a selfless team that cared. We wanted a team to come through when it mattered. We wanted one unforgettable game. We got all of it-well, those of us paying attention, anyway.

And that's why I hope neither NBA TV nor ESPN Classic ever replays this game. It belongs to me and the lucky few who watched it live and sweated it out. God bless America. Hell, I might even start rooting for Coach K and Kobe after this.

(On second thought … nah.)

It sucks that this game came on so late because if it had come on at let's say 8:00 P.M. eastern, we would STILL be talking about it now.
Seriously, this game was THAT good, it's one of those things that you'll tell your kids/grandkids.
This game was amazing.


Throughout the 1st half, Spain kept it close, but in my mind I was like the US has this, no worries(I was really nervious though

)
It kept getting closer and closer and closer until it's a 2 point game in the 4th quarter.
At that point it was like Oh !!+!, we're gunna lose

.
Then the US came through

, say what you want about Kobe, but he took over and ENDED it.
There was no way he (or anyone else for that matter) was going to let the US lose that game.
When we finally won it and you saw all these NBA STARS celebrating which each other

.

Rooting for all of those NBA players on one team was so sick.
I'm not the biggest D-Wade fan in the world(his rookie year though

), but he won me over during the Olys.
He was fighting for EVERYTHING and he kept the US going in the 1st half and he did his thing througout the tournament.
LeBron was a beast, Carmelo was sick, CP3 and Deron

, Bosh, Howard, the list goes on.


Man, I'm just glad that I saw that game live, it's something that I will always keep with me.

So question for all you NTers.
Did you watch the game live??
If so, what are your feeling about it?
If not, why didn't you? Time issues? Do you regret missing it?

 

[jville819]

I didn't watch any of it. Matter of fact i don't even remember seeing highlights from this game on ESPN. I can't even remember what the +!$* i wasdoing during all of there games.

I did just read an interesting article in DIME about how this team looked like it was missing someone in particular. I didn't know AI wasn't eveninvited to try out.

Wish i could've seen a lil bit of this old Dwade the media is talking about nowadays.

 

[craftsy21]

I saw it live, but i kinda forgot how entertaining it was until just reading through this again... probably because it kept me up til 5 in the morning here onthe east coast and i was a little tired. But yeah, it was a fantastic basketball game, despite the terrible officiating which was rampant throughout thetournament.

 

[TheGodFresco]

I had just got back from work, and watched the game right when it started. Hell of a game.

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by jville819

I didn't watch any of it. Matter of fact i don't even remember seeing highlights from this game on ESPN. I can't even remember what the +!$* i was doing during all of there games.

Very unfortunate.
I remember watching highlights of the game on ESPN in the morning, but I don't think it was ever mentioned again.

And you were probably sleeping during the games

.

 

[tbone95860]

Watched it live, was an awesome game.
Kobe at the end was so awesome for someone who's favorite athlete is Kobe

 

[dmbrhs]

First of all, way late on posting the article. Second, I'm on the west coast so it was no biggie staying up and watching it (11:30 pm). It was one of thebest games I've ever seen. second, Bill slurped Spain way too much in that article. All we hear about is how much the world has caught up to the Unitedstates in basketball, and then we put a team out there against the world champions, and we're "shocked" and "embarrassed" by the factthese guys can run with us? I mean, what is it?

And the refs were god awful in that game, which makes it even more amazing that it was such a great experience. The game was great in spite of the horridofficiating.

I watched every minute of every game, although not live most of the time because they were on in the middle of the night. But that gold medal game was awesome.I was yelling a tthe TV almost that entire game. Kobe's 4-point play is one of the greatest clutch plays ever.

I still have the game on my DVR and downloaded it (I also have the 1992 gold medal game on my computer as well), so i'm never getting rid of it off mycomp.

 

[dmbrhs]

Originally Posted by SoHi 23

Originally Posted by jville819

I didn't watch any of it. Matter of fact i don't even remember seeing highlights from this game on ESPN. I can't even remember what the +!$* i was doing during all of there games.

Very unfortunate.
I remember watching highlights of the game on ESPN in the morning, but I don't think it was ever mentioned again.

And you were probably sleeping during the games

.

ESPN has limited highlight access, and a lot of their coverage consisted of their own photos. They got small amounts of footage from major events a day (or so)after they took place. Trust me, if ABC ever got the Olympics, ESPN would be 24/7 coverage. And it'd probably be unbearable. The last thing the world needsis ESPN to get their hands on the Olympics.

 

[mco85]

I watched it live and yeah it was a great game. Im a Kobe fan so it was good to see him come through in the clutch, but Wade was a monster that game

 

[sohi 23]

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

First of all, way late on posting the article.

I read this article a couple of months ago, I just never got aroung to posting about it.

second, Bill slurped Spain way too much in that article. All we hear about is how much the world has caught up to the United states in basketball, and then we put a team out there against the world champions, and we're "shocked" and "embarrassed" by the fact these guys can run with us? I mean, what is it?


*nods head*
He did give Spain a little too much credit, but he had to create a vibe for his article.
Spain played their %*$*! off though, let's not take anything away from them.

And the refs were god awful in that game, which makes it even more amazing that it was such a great experience. The game was great in spite of the horrid officiating.

But yeah, it was a fantastic basketball game, despite the terrible officiating which was rampant throughout the tournament
.

*nods head again*
There were bad calls throughout the tourney.
The refs had no communication, but I mean that was kind of expected

.

 

[dmbrhs]

To go further on the refs, I mean, there was one play where Bosh just got literally thrown to the ground by Marc Gasol, who just took the rebound and put up ashot like nothing happened. Then not long after, Fernandez just gives Kobe a love tap on a deep three and fouls out. It made no sense.

 

[clutchshooter]

i watched it and it certainly could not be qualified as 'one of the best basketball games ever'

.

 

[after h0urs]

I stayed up and watched it and it was hardly one of the greatest basketball games of all time. Good game no doubt, but one of the best ever? Is this guy crazy?

 

[offbad]

watched it live. was incredible.

kobe's and1 3pointer was amazing. and that silencing finger he held up.. so much swag.

i was so pissed that fernandez was getting so many looks that i was convinced that nate macmillan (or however his name is spelled) was doing it on purpose as ascouting move.

wade balling out of his mind. bosh playing (surprisingly decent/above average) D.

god, i feel so sorry for booze though. i wish he got more time. he probably could have done something to hold down the D inside the paint. if anyone knowswhere i can get a boozer olympic jersey, point me in that way!

 

[knightngale]

Kobe's 4-point play is one of the greatest clutch plays ever.

 

[japs24]

Saw it live too ..thanks to NT coming through with the links..

But yea, thank god for wade.. dude was on point the whole game.. Kobe did his thing in the 4th tho..

I was actually having the same feeling i had watching them lose to greece last tourney when spain cut the lead down to 2..

Kobe's swagger after that point play ..

The articel up there sounds like an NT'er tho

 

[u ttocs]

Originally Posted by after h0urs

I stayed up and watched it and it was hardly one of the greatest basketball games of all time. Good game no doubt, but one of the best ever? Is this guy crazy?

I'd say it's a legitimate statement considering how high the stakes were. There's been better games played in terms of closer scoresand better finishes sure. But there's never been a game of more importance than this one. If USA lost this game all these guys careers would be tarnishedforever. There is no game 7, there is no next year.

 

[acidicality]

i watched it live on tv...it was definitely an incredible game, kobe put on a show in the 4th, Wade was ballin and everything. Plus, they were legitimately introuble because Spain was ballin out of their minds.

 

[22 deuces 22]

I can't let the Gold-Medal Game go. USA 118, Spain 107. One of the 10 most dramatic basketball games of my lifetime.

stopped reading there.

 

[morningstar7777]

Have it on DVR HD, bout to watch it now now this post has been made......game was real dramatic because more than 2/3rds of the fans were rooting for Spain.

 

[dmbrhs]

Originally Posted by u ttocs

Originally Posted by after h0urs

I stayed up and watched it and it was hardly one of the greatest basketball games of all time. Good game no doubt, but one of the best ever? Is this guy crazy?

I'd say it's a legitimate statement considering how high the stakes were. There's been better games played in terms of closer scores and better finishes sure. But there's never been a game of more importance than this one. If USA lost this game all these guys careers would be tarnished forever. There is no game 7, there is no next year.

Pretty much that's what it comes down to: multi-millionaires playing for pride because they didn't want to come home with the shame oflosing a tournament they were heavily favored in. It could have been a Dan vs. Dave Barcelona situation. They had an ad campaign played ad nauseum, there weregreater expectations than on almost any sports team in history. It really was the Redeem Team. If they lost it would be an ultimate failure. And they went outand balled like crazy. Both teams shot lights out and hit crazy huge shots through the entire game. They went blow for blow for about 39 minutes before thelead was safe enough for Spain to have to foul. Kobe was responsible for something like 20+ points in the fourth quarter, Wade had 27, they started hittingfree throws, they hit threes when it counted (3rd quarter was a disaster). They did things they'd failed to do well all tournament long. Under pressurethey rose to the occassion, which is what everyone wanted to see.

Great game.

 

[dl2352]

Kobe's clutch 4 point play

Fernandez was unbelievable. The poster on Dwight Howard was

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Kobe was a cold-blooded monster. That four-point play is etched in my memory. I love it when players show true emotion, I love it when players shut the crowdup, and both happened on that play.

Everything about that game was great. It was tense all the way through. There were great plays, great players, great atmosphere. Great ending, too.

 

[thagreatj]

I watched it live.

not just USA bball, but i watched all kinds of Olympic stuff, was i the only one who was lost and didnt know what to watch after the olympics were over?

 

[thagreatj]

Originally Posted by DL2352

Kobe's clutch 4 point play

Fernandez was unbelievable. The poster on Dwight Howard was

you mean this??