A USA Basketball gold medal will largely depend on how a San Antonio Spurs star performs. Hello again, 2004. Twenty years ago, Manu Ginobili and Argentina changed the course of American national basketball program with a stunning victory over a squad that featured Tim Duncan among several NBA superstars. In the current version of a story line heavy with Spurs influence, enter Victor Wembanyama and France basketball.
The 2004 Olympic gold medal served as the meat for the sandwich that started Ginobili's legacy. Coming off a rookie season in which his steady play and timely playoff contributions helped the Spurs to the 2003 championship, the Hall-of-Famer led his country to gold the next year before playing a pivotal role in the Spurs' 2005 title.
While Wembanyama didn't match the team success of which Ginobili was a part of, there is no comparing his NBA rookie season to that of the Argentinian guard. In fact, there aren't many inaugural campaigns, period, that can compare. It fits with the belief that Wemby will leave a legacy not seen before. It's a legacy that can take a huge step in Saturday's gold medal match-up against the U.S.
Manu Ginobili's stellar international play
When Ginobili accounted for a game-high 29 points in Argentina's 89-81 victory in the semifinals of the 2004 Olympic men's basketball competition, no other player in the game scored as many as 20. An American squad that featured Allen Iverson and a young Dwyane Wade was led by Stephon Marbury's 18 points. A 19-year-old LeBron James played just three minutes that day, his only points coming on a 3-pointer. Duncan scored 10 points in 20 minutes while Lamar Odom added 14.
Though it was a roster that doesn't stack up to others in U.S. basketball history and though that era for Argentina was known as the country's golden generation, it proved a stunning upset.
On a team that featured it's own share of NBA players, Fabricio Oberto, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, Walter Hermann and Carlos Delfino teamed with Ginobili for a core that also won silver in the 2002 FIBA World Cup and bronze in the 2008 Olympics. Those 2004 games, capped with a victory against Italy, proved the highlight, especially for Ginobili who earned MVP honors in Athens that year. He scored 154 points, averaging 19.3 points through those eight games. Overall, he ranks as the sixth leading scorer in the history of the Summer Games.
Ginobili's four NBA titles, two All-Star games, Sixth Man of the Year and reputation as a great clutch-time player helped him into Springfield, Massachusetts. But his play with Argentina, headlined by 2004, is what sets him apart.
Victor Wembanyama's gigantic opportunity
The 7-foot-4 phenom either led or shared the team led in scoring in each of France's three pool play games. In their huge quarterfinal win vs. a very talented Canadian team, Wemby grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. He scored 11 more points in the semifinal victory vs. Germany.
Saturday presents the chance to knock off an American squad led by James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Anthon Edwards and Joel Embiid. Since the 2004 loss, USA Basketball retooled to not only include the country's very best professionals, but also ask them to commit beyond playing in the Summer Games. Though France's roster also features several NBA players, including four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, a win Saturday would prove an even bigger upset than in 2004.
It's only a matter of time before Wemby joins Manu as a Spurs icon. Saturday allows him the opportunity to join Ginobili as an international legend as well.
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