The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is coming to an end today but there are still plenty of medals to be won across a variety of events, including the men's basketball. Basketball is one of the most prevalent sports in the world of LEGO and an impressive range of sets was released between 2003 and 2004. The subtheme is famed for introducing flesh elements to reflect the skin colours of NBA players but also offered unusual play features and some new elements which are still in use today.

Furthermore, the Basketball range includes two minifigures which represent players who have been in action at the 2016 Olympic Games. Discover their identities after the break...

The theme is divided between sets which feature real NBA players and those which include generic minifigures. Some sets included a single player and a ball while others offer entire stadia filled with full teams. 3433 The Ultimate NBA Arena is the largest set in the range and perfectly exhibits the function around which the range is built.

Each minifigure includes springs in its legs and has unusually shaped arms which allow them to pick up the basketball. Pulling back the minifigure and releasing it will shoot the ball towards the net and this works remarkably well as it is possible to adjust the angle and power of the shot to improve your accuracy.

Only two of the 24 players who appeared as minifigures are participating in the Olympic Games: Pau Gasol and Tony Parker. Gasol appears in two sets from 2003 and is competing as part of the Spanish team for the bronze medal today. He is currently the leading scorer in that match while Parker made it to the quarter-final with France and also featured in two sets.

The German football team is in attendance and won the silver medal on Saturday but none of the sixteen DFB Collectable Minifigures are playing at the Olympic Games, leaving Pau Gasol and Tony Parker as the only current Olympic athletes who have appeared as minifigures!

This is our final LEGO Sports article for the time being but we have lots more to come including a review of 71040 Disney Castle and What's Missing? Return of the Jedi which will be published next week.