The United States’ disputed loss to the Soviet Union in the men’s basketball final at the 1972 Munich Olympics is generally regarded as the game that changed the face of the sport.

Forty years later, it is still being replayed. In a new book, “Stolen Glory.” In articles dissecting the key figures and the final three seconds. In a scheduled reunion of United States players next month at Georgetown College in Kentucky, including panel discussions and, for sure, some beers, cheers and tears.

The Soviets’ 51-50 victory ended the Americans’ domination (a 63-0 Olympic record) and opened the world’s eyes to the potential of international teams and talent in a sport that was born in the United States.

But the real seeds of a world basketball revolution were planted two years earlier, at the 1970 World University Games, in which the United States lost to the Soviet Union, then in the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, where the Americans lost to Cuba in a round-robin game, then were eliminated from medal consideration by point spreads involving another game between Brazil and Cuba.