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- The men's national basketball team of the United States competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The team was led by future Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown. Having won gold in the previous three straight Olympic Games, the Americans were favored to win Olympic gold again in 2004. However, the team won bronze, while losing three games against its opponents, the most games ever lost by a U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. The team lost its opening game to Puerto Rico by 19 points, which stands as the largest margin of defeat for the U.S. in the Olympics. It ended their 24-game Olympic winning streak since 1992, when National Basketball Association (NBA) players were first allowed to compete. The team also lost games in the Olympics to Lithuania and Argentina. In addition, the team lost a friendly preparation game prior to the Olympics, against Italy, by a score of 95–78. This was the second time that Team USA won the bronze medal, having also done so at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. (en)
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