On Sunday, August 24, 2008, at the end of the Olympic basketball tournament, Team USA and Spain will offer 11,083 lucky people in a theater in Beijing and millions of television viewers around the world an unforgettable spectacle.
How? By offering 40 minutes of basketball at a very high level. An idea of perfection itself, as there are few similar meetings in the history of the sport.
The episode – USA-Spain 2008, the biggest match in history?
“For me it’s the best basketball game ever”assured us George Eddy, commentator for the final for Canal+. “NBA, international basketball and college basketball combined. I had the chance to commentate it, in the front row, with David Cozette. At halftime I told my colleague that we saw the best game in the history of this sport. The skill level and the collective level was tremendous . All the parameters for a great match were there. It was a perfect alignment of the planets.
In fact, the first half was fantastic. Taking advantage of the injury to José Calderon, who made way for 17-year-old Ricky Rubio, the Americans look to control the tempo and impose on their defense. After just ten minutes, the score is already impressive: 38-31!
If Team USA takes up to twelve points in advance in the second quarter, at halftime, the scoreboard could be the end of a group game: 69-61.
“In the first half, both teams exceeded 60 scored points, with more than 60% success! »remembers George Eddy. “In a 40-minute game, that’s huge! We never see that, let alone between the two best teams in the world and in an Olympic final. The effort didn’t kill the game.”
A boxing match
We then believe that the break will break the fantastic rhythm and that as money time approaches, the skill will drop and the defense will take over. Admittedly, the percentages drop – Spain finishes at 50%, Team USA at 60% – but the level remains at the top.
“I had in mind the boxing match between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns, broadcast by Canal+, in the 1980s. From the first seconds, the two looked for the KO The series of blows was incredible and it remains a reference in this industry. This match between Team USA and Spain is in this style. »
Rudy Fernandez gives us the dunk of the tournament, on the head of Dwight Howard, but it’s Kobe Bryant who turns the game on its head. With three minutes and thirteen seconds remaining, Mike Krzyzewski’s men lead 104-99.
Dwyane Wade attacks the Spanish zone defense and passes to Kobe Bryant. The Lakers guard fakes Rudy Fernandez and drains his 3-pointer. It fits, with the error! The Iberian defender makes his fifth mistake, and Kobe Bryant, with his index finger on his mouth, immortalizes the image of the tournament.
Team USA finally won 117-108 after a legendary game in which the loser was magnificent and deserves eternal respect.
“This Spanish team is probably, along with one of the great Yugoslav teams of the era of Toni Kukoc, Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic in the early 1990s, one of the strongest ever.”says George Eddy. “So, Team USA’s victory is even more beautiful, this match even more magnificent. It was therefore stronger than the “Dream Team” of 1992, when a surprise was possible. »
A model’s victory and basketball
After the failures of 2002, 2004 and 2006, Team USA, which had begun to rebuild its model by putting together a more cohesive and balanced formation, finally returned to the top of the world. From Olympus.
“Everyone talks about NBA players being selfish, arrogant and individualistic”Kobe Bryant explained. “What you saw today was a united team that overcame adversity to ultimately come away with a huge victory.”
In the mind, there is really a very big winner, besides the Americans of course, at the end of these sublime minutes: basketball.
“This will raise the image of this sport in the world”will assess the head of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo. “It was one of the biggest matches in the history of the Olympic Games. The quality and caliber of the players was extraordinary. We set the bar very high and it will be even better next time. »
In fact, the 2012 final in London, still between Team USA and Spain, was another monument. But it doesn’t have the taste, the perfection of the first one.