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Nigeria Basketball's First Olympic Win In 20 Years Led to Best Photos of Paris Games

The Nigeria womne's basketball team hadn't won an Olympics game since 2004 until Monday's huge upset of Australia.
The Nigeria women's basketball team celebrates on the court at Pierre Mauroy Stadium after its 75-62 win over Australia at the Olympics in Paris on Monday, July 29, 2024.
The Nigeria women's basketball team celebrates on the court at Pierre Mauroy Stadium after its 75-62 win over Australia at the Olympics in Paris on Monday, July 29, 2024. | Screengrab Twitter @DtigressNG

The Olympics never fails to disappoint.

The Nigeria women's basketball team pulled off a stunner in Paris, upsetting Australia 75-62 in a Group B contest on Monday at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. The victory was not only a massive upset of an Australian women's national team ranked No. 3 in the world heading into the Paris Games, but also a historic win.

Monday's win was the first in 20 years for Nigeria's women's basketball team—and the monumental moment produced some truly iconic photos.

Here are two of the very best pictures, courtesy of the team's and FIBA's official accounts on X, formerly Twitter.

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With 3:54 left in the fourth quarter and the Australians making a push, Nigeria women's basketball captain Amy Okonkwo rose to the occasion, sinking a three-pointer to extend the D'Tigress lead to seven points. A FIBA photographer then had the perfect shot of the cold-blooded look on Okonkwo's face after she hit the massive shot.

Then, the Nigeria women's basketball team's celebration after the buzzer produced perhaps an even better photo, complete with the perfect caption from the team's account.

Incredible.

The D'Tigress will look to keep defying the odds when they take on France on August 1.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated, primarily covering MLB, college football and college basketball. Before joining SI in November 2023, Capurso worked at RotoBaller and ClutchPoints and is a graduate of Assumption University. When he's not working, he can be found at the gym, reading a book or enjoying a good hike. A resident of New York, Capurso openly wonders if the Giants will ever be a winning football team again.