Goorjian's amazing Olympic spray: 'You guys are bums!'

It was a defining moment in Australian basketball history – that Bronze medal in Tokyo the ultimate reward after falling short so many times ... after so many heartbreaking losses in big games.

But how did it come to be? 

For Boomers coach Brian Goorjian, defeat at the hands of Team USA on August 5, 2021 was the final straw. The Australians had led by as much as 15 points midway through the second quarter, only to succumb to an onslaught in the third. They conceded 32 points to 10, and just like that, the game was over. 

Something had to be said. 

In the rooms after the game, Goorjian stood up. 

“I want your eyes,” he ordered his players, revealing the post-game spray in an interview via the Sunday Morning Herald. 

“You guys are bums!” he said. “You can stick your culture. What does an Aussie do? An Aussie gets hit in the face and gets up and throws punches back. You’ve been here before and you haven’t won one. That’s because after you lost one, you stick your head up your ass and cry. Then you don’t perform when the money is on the line.”

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The truth is, Goorjian was right. The Boomers had fallen at the final hurdle too many times. Not one, not two, not three, but four fourth-place finishes from their last Olympic campaigns. 

For the veteran coach, it was time to draw a line in the sand. 

“It was one of my best performances in the locker-room of my coaching career,” Goorjian said, reflecting on that famous next game.

Of course, just two days later, Australia claimed that famous ‘rose gold’ off the back of a performance for the ages from Patty Mills. 

The motivation was there and Goorjian’s words only strengthened the Boomers’ resolve, but ultimately it was time, time to step up as a legitimate force in world basketball. 

Now, four years later, expectations are high. Things didn’t go Australia’s way at the World Cup, and with that, there’s a steely resolve. 

The performance against Spain was nothing short of impressive, full of polish.

But the biggest challenges still remain – next Canada, then Greece, and perhaps, if all goes to plan, another chance to take it to Team USA in the next week or two.

Expectations are high. 

Read the full story here via the Sunday Morning Herald >> ‘You guys are bums’: Coach’s post-match explosion that inspired Boomers to Olympic bronze