Gold medal game, 1972 Olympic Basketball
September 9, 1972 · Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, West Germany
Gold medal game, 1972 Olympic Basketball: Soviet Union 51–50 United States, at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, West Germany on September 9, 1972.
The most controversial finish in Olympic basketball history — the final three seconds were replayed twice amid a disputed timeout and clock reset before Alexander Belov's winning layup. See data/basketball_olympics.py's 1972 entry for the full, separately well-sourced narrative of the ending (Doug Collins's free throws, the disputed timeout, FIBA's Jones intervening from the stands, the US team's refusal to accept silver medals) — not re-litigated in this games file, which focuses on the surrounding tournament's individual-game structure.
Top performers
No individual player stats were located for Soviet Union in this game.
No individual player stats were located for United States in this game.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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