The Dream Team Loses to Argentina
Another pivotal moment from the year 2002 saw the Dream Team pitted against Argentina at the World Basketball Championship. While America had largely dominated world basketball championships until this time, the challenger was able to swoop in and steal the win from them in a crushing defeat. Disheartened and shook up, many fans saw it as the ultimate slap in the face. After all, Americans were known for basketball, how could this have happened?
The defeat didn’t just end there. Between 2002 and 2004, the U.S. lost more often than they had in every previous Olympic championship game throughout history combined. Fortunately, the Dream Team recovered a bit in 2004, finally taking home a bronze medal instead. The loss in 2002 was the first loss for the U.S.A. since 1998, breaking a world-class winning streak.
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