Ginóbili played with the junior Argentine national team at the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place. Ginóbili was a member of the senior Argentine national basketball team, and made his senior debut during the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens. He also played at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, where he won a silver medal. His best accomplishment as a member of the national team came at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics when Argentina became the first team other than Team USA to win the gold medal in 16 years. The highlight of the tournament was his game-winning buzzer beater with 0.7 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versus Serbia and Montenegro. Ginóbili led the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game).