Category: Olympics

Hoops fans thought A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo’s polite handshake was so unsubtle amid dating rumors

If A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo are trying to hide a relationship, they’re failing.

A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo play two important roles for Team USA women’s and men’s basketball respectively. Wilson is arguably the best women’s basketball player in the world. Adebayo is a stalwart NBA All-Star caliber center.

And after both elite players helped the Americans win two gold medals in Paris, some are recounting how convenient it is that their athletic primes are happening at the same time.

Why? Because it’s coincidentally very opportune that they get to play for Team USA at the same time.

After the Team USA women won gold on Sunday, Wilson approached Adebayo for a polite, elaborate handshake courtside. The little moment between the two comes as both were apparently spotted early last month hanging out together, sparking light dating rumors.

Instances like this handshake, where both Wilson and Adebayo couldn’t be more unsubtle, only add fuel to that fire. It’s kinda reminiscent of every major celebrity/athlete couple dancing around the obvious until they’re ready to go public. Of course, Wilson and Adebayo could just be hanging out as friends and have gotten close in that capacity. Neither have made any public comments about this either.

But also, if I’m being candid, that would be very boring!

And on that note, I have a message for the duo on behalf of fans who have been keeping tabs on this “mini-saga”: If you really are dating, just come out with it already! Let us all see more love!

Hoops fans thought Wilson and Adebayo lacked all subtlety with their friendly handshake after the Team USA women won gold

Kahleah Copper celebrated her Team USA gold medal heroics with an ice-cold nickname for herself

Kahleah Copper feels like she’s on top of the world.

With Team USA’s gold medal hopes on the line Sunday, it needed a hero. Someone had to step up and prevent France from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in basketball history.

That hero ended up being Kahleah Copper.

Copper’s clutch fourth quarter had a cascading effect that brought the Americans over the top, led to a delightful quote from A’ja Wilson, and caused utter heartbreak for France’s Gabby Williams. After all the dust settled, Copper gave herself her own hilarious gold-medal-winning nickname as the Paris Olympics closing ceremony unfolded.

Just try and tell her she’s wrong to make this demand. (Warning: NSFW acronym in the tweet below):

Listen, if you score 10 fourth-quarter points to help your country capture a gold medal over the Olympic host nation, you should really be called whatever you want. Kudos to Copper for celebrating the right way.

France’s Guerschon Yabusele wanted NBA teams to know he’s ready after a breakout showing in the Olympics

He earned another chance.

One of the underrated aspects of Olympic basketball is what the tournament can mean for a non-NBA player’s career. It’s an opportunity to go up against the world’s best basketball players on a major stage. And you best believe that NBA teams are paying attention.

With that in mind, France’s Guerschon Yabusele could probably expect some calls in the near future. He made it clear that he’s ready for that chance.

Yabusele was a former first-round pick who only lasted a couple seasons with the Celtics amid limited playing time. Since then, he’s put together a great career overseas, and in Saturday’s gold medal game against Team USA, he absolutely looked the part.

After his 20-point performance against the U.S., Yabusele took to Twitter/X and issued his message to NBA teams. He’s still just 28 years old.

He’s been waiting for a second chance, and he’s ready to go.

Yabusele — currently with Real Madrid — averaged 19.6 points per game in the knockout stage for France, and he stunned the basketball world with his poster dunk on LeBron James.

NBA fans wouldn’t mind seeing Yabusele get another shot in the league either.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

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USWNT coach Hayes brings Horan to tears after gold medal win

The coach was full of praise for her captain after Saturday’s gold medal game

Emma Hayes clearly has an effect on her players.

If that couldn’t be seen by the coach leading the U.S. women’s national team to a gold medal in just her 10th game in charge, it was clearly demonstrated after the game.

Hayes and her captain Lindsey Horan faced the media following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Brazil in the gold medal game. Mallory Swanson’s goal in the second half settled a tense game, giving the USWNT its fifth gold medal and first since 2012.

Horan started every game of the Olympics, playing nearly every minute, but faced some criticism over her performances in France. Perhaps sensing this, Hayes interrupted her post-game press conference to deliver some words of praise for the midfielder.

“I should actually say something that I think is really important,” Hayes began. “This leader beside me, you don’t see all the work she does off the pitch. You don’t see all the conversations she has, whether it’s helping nurture a young player, or whether it’s to settle nerves or to remind people of their confidence or to push back on the things that matter most. She has put performance first, she has put winning first.

“And yes, we are at an Olympics but not at any point on our days off did we do unnecessary things, or do things that put the team’s performance in jeopardy. She took hard decisions with the players. And I really admire that in her.

“I can see not only why she’s the leader of this team, but she made my job so much easier because she was firm with everyone, but also very fair. I’m delighted for Lindsey because she deserves that, and doesn’t always get the credit she deserves and it’s been an honor for me to work with her.”

Sitting next to her coach, Horan was moved to tears.

“Don’t ask me any more questions!” the midfielder said with a laugh.

Watch Hayes move Horan to tears

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A wobbly Nikola Jokic delightfully received his Olympic bronze alongside his Serbian teammates

Nikola Jokic and the Serbians know how to have a good time.

With a population of roughly 6.6 million, the country of Serbia winning any one Olympic medal is a massive achievement in itself. And the most celebrated Serbian medal from the Paris Olympics just might be three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Co. capturing the bronze for men’s basketball.

After beating Germany in a game where Nikola Jokic dropped the fifth triple-double in men’s Olympic history and became the first player ever to lead the entire Olympic field in points, rebounds, and assists, they knew how they had to celebrate.

In fact, because they had an early morning game against the Germans, the Serbians had a lot of time to kill. So, after receiving just the eighth men’s basketball medal in the nation’s history on Saturday, Jokic and friends ventured to really maximize their time for the rest of the day.

But even after all the fun they had together, and after Team USA dispatched France, Serbia had to return to get its bronze medals from the International Olympic Committee … while being filmed on international television.

It’s almost like they accounted for this.

Throughout the ceremony, it was clear that a wobbly Nikola Jokic was still living it up after winning a medal with his countrymen:

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Every piece of it seemed to be positively delightful for Jokic and the Serbians:

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Check out this moment with Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol:

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Never doubt that the Serbians know how to live in the moment and revel in something they accomplished. As ever, after achieving glory on an international stage, they were led even here by their leader, Jokic — the man who, once again, proved he was the best player in the world during this Olympic tournament.

Steph Curry had the French announcers in absolute disbelief when he closed out Team USA’s gold medal win

“This devil named Curry is hurting us!”

Throughout his NBA career, Steph Curry has put opposing teams and fan bases on the receiving end of his late-game heroics. When Curry gets a rhythm, there seemingly isn’t a shot in the gym that is too difficult for him.

He’s the best shooter of all-time for a reason.

On Saturday, France got a chance to know what it’s like to see Steph go into Legend Mode. And let’s just say that the French broadcast wasn’t enjoying any of it.

Curry made threes in four straight possessions to close out the gold medal win for Team USA over France, which included one of the more iconic shots of his Hall of Fame career. And while viewers in the U.S. were treated to a great call by Noah Eagle, those watching in France may have gotten to experience an even better reaction.

“This devil named Curry is hurting us,” the French broadcast apparently said as Steph got going during that run.

And then it got to the point where the announcers were asking aloud, “How is this possible?!”

We can all relate to that. Steph is just different. And now, he’s an Olympic gold medalist.

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Photos of former Notre Dame women’s basketball players winning gold

Make that two golds each for the two.

The 2024 Olympics in Paris had only one event left in which to give out medals. That was the women’s basketball competition, and the U.S. was a heavy favorite for its eighth straight gold medal. It turned out winning the gold was easier said than done as the U.S. squeaked by France, 67-66, in a game that nearly went into overtime but for a foot on the 3-point line on the final basket.

Though two former Notre Dame standouts were on the U.S. roster, only one played in the final game. That was [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag], who made a single basket on seven field-goal attempts. [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] was left on the bench. However, both will leave Paris with their second Olympic gold medals each.

In six Olympic contests, Young averaged 9.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Over five games, Loyd had averages of 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Here’s how these two Irish legends enjoyed their latest moment of Olympic glory:

Hoops fans were so moved by Brittney Griner’s tears after Team USA won gold

Brittney Griner deserves every bit of this glorious moment.

Team USA women’s basketball’s chaotic ending to winning another gold medal had so many iconic notes. You had incredibly clutch fourth-quarter heroics from Kahleah Copper. There was, of course, an unfortunate stroke of luck for France’s Gabby Williams, punctuated by ball-knowing confidence from Breanna Stewart.

But the best moment of all might have come from Brittney Griner during the medal ceremony. The Phoenix Mercury center was seen crying during the American national anthem, moved to heartwarming emotions after she received her gold medal.

And if you know anything about what Griner has been through over the last couple of years, you couldn’t help but cry with her.

Roughly two years ago at this time, Griner was being erroneously held in a Russian prison over drug smuggling charges because of a medical marijuana prescription from the United States. She would later finally be released about 10 months later, but not after losing nearly a year of her life while also in the middle of her basketball playing career.

For such a heartbreaking story to follow at the time, it made it beyond rewarding to see Griner get emotional over winning another gold medal for her country.

Hoops fans felt so great for Griner as she cried after remembering everything she’s been through

1 photo shows Breanna Stewart knew Gabby Williams had her foot on the line when trying to tie the gold medal game

Breanna Stewart knew Gabby Williams made a big mistake right away.

In a twist almost no one saw coming, France was this close to upsetting Team USA women’s basketball in the gold medal game on Sunday.

In fact, both teams’ woeful shooting performances opened the door for the French, making the Americans really uncomfortable down the stretch. If not for Kahleah Copper’s heroics, we might have been talking about France’s first gold medal ever instead of a nail-biting 67-66 USA win.

Well, and if Gabby Williams didn’t have her foot on the line when trying to tie the game in the final moments.

But even in the flash of chaos, one person on Team USA knew right away that Williams had fallen just short of forcing overtime. That was Breanna Stewart, who was seen pointing at the line without hesitation in a wonderfully animated photo of the superstar:

That is tremendous confidence right there. Look at Stewart’s face. That’s of an athlete who knows they’re about to add another gold medal to their collection.

A’ja Wilson had hilariously accurate NSFW praise for Kahleah Copper’s clutch 4th quarter in the gold-medal game

Copper was instrumental in the U.S. locking up gold once again.

Things got a little dicey for the U.S. women’s basketball squad on Sunday morning as they found themselves in a tense battle with home team France with an Olympic gold medal on the line. The Americans had a two-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter, and wing Kahleah Copper stepped up when her team needed her most.

MORE: Quincy Wilson summed up winning Olympic gold and being 16 years old with 1 perfect tweet

Copper finished with 12 points, but 10 of them came in the final stanza with the last two of her six made free throws (in as many attempts) giving the Americans a three-point cushion they would very much need. After Gabby Williams’s desperation heave was ruled a two — which gave the U.S. a 67-66 victory — everyone let out a sigh of relief.

During postgame, Copper’s teammate A’ja Wilson spoke to media. When asked about the Phoenix Mercury star, Wilson succinctly summed up her clutch performance with two words. “That [expletive],” Wilson said before staring into the camera.