Team USA teaches the world a lesson

Thoughts on the greatest tournament I’ve ever seen

BY DAVID THORPE

Stephen Curry celebrates after hitting his fourth 3-pointer in a row in the fourth quarter of the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball final. AYTAC UNAL/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES

I played in my first basketball tournament in 1978. I’ve watched more elimination games, breathless before the television, than I can count. I’ve coached AAU national title matchups. I’ve attended high-school state championships, March Madness tilts, and closeout contests in the NBA Finals. 

The 2024 Paris Olympics provided the two most thrilling tournament games I have ever seen. 

For decades, I’ve contended that Doug Collins’ two perfect swishes, which pushed Team USA to a one-point lead over the USSR in the 1972 gold-medal game, were the two greatest shots in Olympic history. Collins faced the intense pressure of America’s first-ever loss in Olympic men’s basketball. They were amateurs facing battle-scarred professionals. Sure, the game ended in a controversial Soviet victory, but Collins was money when the chips were down. 

I watched the 2024 gold-medal game in my living room, with my adult son and three of his former high-school teammates. This summer, Team USA once again faced the pressure of “not losing,” only this time with far fiercer opposition than in prior years. 

It started badly. Inexplicably, a roster with 14 NBA titles and three former MVPs resembled the Washington Generals. They were fucking terrible.