About Basketball (Olympic sport since 1936)
篮球概述（1936年成为奥运会正式比赛项目）
For 36 years after basketball entered the Olympic Games as a full medal sport for men, the question was not who would win, but who would finish second. The United States owned the game, and not just because it was invented there.
在男子篮球成为正式的奥运会比赛项目之后的36年中，人们关注的焦点并不是谁会赢得冠军，而是亚军的归属。美国是这项运动的主宰，这并不仅仅是因为篮球起源于美国。
The Soviet Union took home the gold when they toppled the US team in a controversial 1972 game. After another semi-final victory for the Soviets in 1988, the sport opened to professionals. Once again, the question became who would finish second. In Barcelona in 1992, with a squad featuring some of the world’s best-known athletes - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird - the gold-medal winning US "Dream Team" gave an exhibition of basketball at its best.
苏联曾在1972的一场有争议的比赛中击败了美国，获得了奥运金牌。在1988年苏联再次击败美国赢得奥运会篮球半决赛的胜利后，奥运会篮球赛向职业选手敞开了大门，于是人们关注的焦点又成了谁将获得亚军。在1992年的巴塞罗那奥运会上，拥有迈克尔·乔丹、魔术师约翰逊、拉里·伯德等著名职业选手的美国“梦之队”上演了一场精彩绝伦的表演赛。
Women’s basketball hasn’t been quite such a one-sided affair. Since it joined the Olympic programme in 1976, the gold medals have been divided between the US, the Soviet Union and, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States.
而女子篮球的决赛就不是一边倒了。自从1976成为奥运会正式比赛项目之后，冠军起初是由美国和苏联分享，在苏联解体后则有美国和独联体来争夺。
