'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Men's basketball at the Summer Olympics is always an interesting discipline to follow, as the tournament has increasingly become more competitive with other countries trying to catch the USA and their NBA superstars.
Since NBA players were allowed in 1992, the USA has won each time, except for Athens 2004 when Manu Ginóbili and Argentina stepped in. Still, there have been some close games that provoked stunning performances from some highly talented basketball players.
Top five performances of all time in gold medal games of Olympics Men's Basketball
In the most recent tournament, we saw amazing performances by several players, including Slovenian Luka Doncic, Australian Patty Mills, and Spaniard Ricky Rubio. Kevin Durant of the USA was named the tournament's MVP for his efforts throughout the championship and leading the USA to the gold medal.
Durant had a solid performance in the gold medal game against France, and it was not the first time in his career performing tremendously at such state.
In this article, we will give you the five best individual efforts in the gold medal game in the men's basketball category at the summer Olympics.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Luis Scola - 2004 Olympics Men's Basketball
Argentina was the last team to stop the USA from dominating men's basketball at the Olympics and the only nation to win the tournament apart from the USA since 1992.
Ginóbili and Argentina's 'Golden Generation', with players like Luis Scola, schockingly defeated a good United States team in the semifinals, before beating Italy for the gold medal.
In their 84-69 victory over Italy to secure gold, Luis Scola scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also made 10 of his 13 field goals and made all five attempts from the free-throw line.
#4 Arvydas Sabonis - 1988 Olympics Men's Basketball
Arvydas Sabonis is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, mainly due to his exploits internationally. Although he was a solid NBA player, Sabonis' international career was extraordinary.
In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Sabonis helped the then Soviet Union win the gold medal after defeating Yugoslavia 76-63 in the final. The center had 20 points and 15 rebounds (the opposing team had only 21 rebounds).
Sabonis made eight of his 14 attempts from the field and four of his five free throws in the game. He won three Olympic medals in his career, the gold medal from 1988 with the Soviet Union and two bronze medals with Lithuania.
#3 David Robinson - 1996 Olympics Men's Basketball
David Robinson played in three Olympics with the US men's basketball team, at Seoul in 1988, with the 1992 'Dream Team' in Barcelona and at home, in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Robinson is one of four American players to have taken at least three medals in the Olympics. Before becoming an NBA player, he won a bronze medal in the 1988 tournament, he then won two gold medals in 1992 and 1996.
With 'Dream Team 2', "The Admiral" had a tremendous performance in the 1996 gold medal game against FR Yugoslavia. Robinson added 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded two steals in the game to lead the USA's 95-69 victory.
#2 Adrian Dantley - 1976 Olympics Men's Basketball
Adrian Dantley went to the 1976 Olympics with the US men's basketball team and played tremendously for the squad, right before his first season in the NBA.
Dantley led the team in scoring throughout the tournament at Montreal, averaging 19.3 points per game. In the gold medal game, when the United States faced Yugoslavia, AD scored 30 points and grabbed four rebounds to lead the USA's 95-74 win.
Dantley's 30 points in the 1976 final are tied for the most in a gold medal game in men's basketball history.
#1 Kevin Durant - 2012 Olympics Men's Basketball
Kevin Durant has already won three gold medals with the USA at the Olympics, tied with Carmelo Anthony for the most all-time. In three gold-medal games, Durant averages 29.6 points per game.
In the 2020 Olympics, Durant put up 29 points in the gold medal match against France, while he put up 30 against Serbia in the championship game back in Rio 2016.
The all-time record for points scored in a gold-medal game is 30 points, and Durant managed to do it twice. In 2012, Durant's scoring guided the USA's new version of the 'Dream Team' against a tremendous Spanish squad.
Durant scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the USA's 107-100 win.
Also read: What rules do the Olympics follow for 3x3 Basketball?
Guess the Lakers players!
