The United States women’s basketball team entered the 2000 Sydney, Australia Olympics loaded with talent, featuring the likes of star players Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Nikki McCray and Dawn Staley.  The U.S. cruised to five consecutive victories in group play, before defeating Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Team USA then defeated South Korea in the semifinal, 78-65. In the Gold Medal Game, the United States met host Australia, but the Aussie’s were not match for the Americans, who cruised to a 76-64 victory to capture the gold medal. This was the fourth gold medal the women’s team and the second in a row of a streak that has continued through the 2016 games.

Presented here is a 2000 USA Olympic basketball gold medal ring, featuring a vertical row of diamonds on either side of the face, which reads “USA 2000”. The words “OLYMPIC” and “CHAMPIONS” appear, respectively, above and below. One side of the ring displays the Sydney 2000 Olympics logo, with a banner reading “GOLD MEDALISTS” at the top and “8-0”, Team USA’s overall record, listed at the bottom. The opposite side displays the name “HARGROVE” along with a USA Basketball logo. Hargrove was most likely long-time coach and scout Linda Hargrove, who was the general manager and head coach of the Portland Fire of the WNBA at the time of the 2000 Olympics and was involved in the women’s national team program. Hargrove was a head coach in the college ranks at Cowley College and Wichita State. This ring is an approximate size 10 and weighs approximately 44.1 grams.

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