"It's something that you should cherish for the rest of your life. Carlos Boozer, Dwyane Wade and Amar'e Stoudemire had a combined five years of NBA service.Duncan and Iverson were chosen captains of the squad. Who did he call? Duncan, the prototypical big man who had already laid the foundation of becoming arguably the best of his era, was finally learning what it was like to lead. Games took place at the Sydney SuperDome and the Dome in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.The United States claimed the gold medals in both the men's and women's competitions. The 2004 U.S Olympic Basketball Team will go down in history after their Bronze Medal finish at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.. On August 15th, 2004, the team was routed by Puerto Rico 92-73 to make it the first U.S Olympic team with NBA players to ever lose in Olympic play since NBA players starting playing in the games at the 1992 Olympics. 25 August 2004: Cuba beats Australia and earns third Olympic gold medalThis question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. The men's basketball tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, began on 15 August and ended on 28 August, when Argentina defeated Italy 84–69 for the gold medal. Per That willingness was Iverson's calling card, and the Olympics were an opportunity for the legendary shoot-first point guard to show a different side of himself while riding the winning wave of glory. "In the three games after the news broke, Iverson averaged 40 points and 10 assists while shooting 58 percent from the field and playing over 45 minutes a game.Imagine Draymond Green playing in Oakland, after setting the table for Kevin Durant to help avenge the embarrassing 2016 Finals loss...then not getting to be part of the Warriors in 2017.Instead, Team USA made players like Iverson and Marbury their sacrificial lambs, while the shoddy leadership from the coaches and organization at large have largely been spared the blame they deserve. Current Australia manager David Nilsson was playing catcher and batting third for Australia in the Athens Olympic final.Cuba beat Australia, 6-2, on 25 August 2004 to claim gold at the Athens Olympics. Nine years later, Adam Nelson can finally call himself an Olympic gold medallist. The game went down in the history books as the most controversial Olympic final ever played. The women's event involved 12 teams split in two groups. That coaching approach led others to believe the real reason Team USA's best players stayed home was because of Brown.
"So why does Stephon Marbury, also on that 2004 Olympic roster, now say that team was behind, as he told Of the 12 players selected to represent the U.S. in Athens, half were under the age of 24. Yet, for as vivid an image as it was to see LeBron, Wade and Kobe scrap their way to an incredible win over Spain in 2008 in the best gold-medal basketball game of all time, it would've been fun to see Iverson with his peer group, wearing the stars and stripes on his chest.Draymond Green isn't the only NBA superstar who started recruiting immediately following a huge loss on one of the world's biggest stages.It was the first—and so far, the last—time the USA men's basketball team had not won gold in the Olympics since the legendary 1992 "Dream Team" introduced NBA stars to international competition.The national team of Argentina, whose 2017 FIBA AmeriCup team lost a gold medal to the USA this weekend after blowing a 20-point lead in the championship game, turned that 2004 American march to gold into a now-infamous bronze-medal conquest.Immediately after, Iverson, like a post-Game-7-loss Green, was on the phone looking for reinforcements. (USA Basketball would eventually settle on staying on the luxurious ship named That tension meant a realignment of priorities, and what was usually deemed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity now felt like something less cool and not so worth the time and investment.Guys like Vince Carter (got married), Kevin Garnett (married), McGrady (planning to get married), Ray Allen (pregnant fiancee) and Jason Kidd (microfracture surgery) were no longer considerations for the roster.