Tag: 2024 olympic games

RJ Barrett leads Canadian team in scoring for second straight game at Olympics

Former Duke basketball star RJ Barrett led the Canadian Olympic team in scoring for the second straight time on Tuesday, a 93-83 win over Australia.

The Canadian men’s basketball team won its second straight Olympic game on Tuesday, and for the second straight time, former Duke basketball star [autotag]RJ Barrett[/autotag] led the team in scoring.

Canada beat Australia 93-83 on Tuesday, and Barrett made eight of his 14 attempts from the floor to finish with 24 points.

The Australians built a 49-45 lead through the first half of the game, but a six-point swing in the third quarter gave Barrett and the Canadians the advantage. Canada then dominated the final quarter, only allowing 13 points en route to the double-digit victory.

Canada also beat Greece, led by two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, for an 86-79 win on Saturday. Barrett finished that game with 23 points, making eight of his 13 attempts. He’s averaging 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.5 steals through two games in Paris.

With the top two countries from every four-team group assured of a spot in the quarterfinals, Barrett and his countrymen have virtually locked up their place in the elimination bracket.

Barrett, who put together one of the best freshman seasons in Duke history back in 2018-19, went third overall to the New York Knicks in the 2019 NBA draft. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors back in December.

Former Duke women’s basketball star Chelsea Gray dishes out 13 assists in Olympic victory

Team USA opened the Olympic women’s basketball tournament with a 102-76 victory over Japan partially thanks to Chelsea Gray’s 13 assists.

The United States women’s basketball team, one of the most dominant Olympic squads in recent history, opened up with more of the same in Paris.

Monday’s 102-76 victory over Japan was powered, in part, by former Duke basketball star [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag]’s 13 (yes, 13) assists.

Gray, a three-time WNBA champion who won each of the last two titles with the Las Vegas Aces, only scored two points but sliced and diced the Japanese defense to set up her teammates. For context, Japan only logged 23 assists as a team.

Fans haven’t seen Gray much so far in 2024. She missed the start of the season with a foot injury she suffered during the 2023 WNBA Finals. She still made the Olympic team despite her absence, a testament to Team USA’s opinion of her talent, and returned to the Aces last month.

Gray played for the United States in Tokyo at the last Olympic Games, the most recent of Team USA’s seven consecutive gold medals.

Watch Gray’s final assist of the day, a no-look dish to Breanna Stewart into the paint, below. It’s worth the time.

The next game for Team USA comes on Thursday against Belgium.

Elizabeth Balogun, Nigeria wins country’s first Olympic women’s basketball game since 2004

Former Duke basketball star Elizabeth Balogun helped Nigeria beat Australia 75-62 on Monday, the country’s first Olympic win since 2004.

For the first time in 20 years, the Nigerian women’s basketball team won a game at the Olympics, and former Duke basketball star Elizabeth Balogun played a key role in the massive achievement.

Nigeria defeated Australia 75-62 on Monday, helped by a dominant second quarter to build a 13-point halftime lead.

Balogun, one of Nigeria’s five starters, finished with nine points, four rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and an assist.

The last time Nigeria won an Olympic game, the country defeated South Korea by four points back in 2004.

According to The Associated Press’s Doug Feinberg, the women’s basketball team summoned the upset after their federation wouldn’t let them join their fellow Nigerians on the country’s boat for the opening ceremony.

Balogun played for Georgia Tech and Louisville before transferring to the Blue Devils ahead of the 2021-22 season. She played two seasons with Duke, averaging 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a senior in 2022-23. She scored at least 15 points in seven different games that season, including a 20-point performance against the Cardinals.

Balogun is one of three former Duke women’s basketball players in Paris and one of 19 current and former Blue Devils athletes representing their country.

Team USA confirms Jayson Tatum not held from Olympic opener for health reasons

With fans questioning why Jayson Tatum didn’t play against Serbia during Sunday’s Olympic opener, Team USA confirmed that he’s healthy.

Former Duke basketball star Jayson Tatum didn’t play in Team USA’s Sunday victory over Serbia, a surprising scratch for the newly crowned NBA champion.

The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported after the game that Tatum was available for the United States and not sitting out for injury-related reasons. In two separate posts to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), Washburn said Tatum denied that he was sick and that Team USA coach Steve Kerr confirmed it was a coach’s decision.

“I went with the combinations that made sense,” Kerr told Washburn. “That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark.”

Tatum started in an exhibition game against Serbia earlier this month. Two of his Boston Celtics teammates, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, both played for the American team during the 110-84 victory.

Team USA plays its second game on the Olympic schedule against South Sudan on Wednesday.

Should Tatum make his way onto the court against South Sudan, it’ll be a battle of Blue Devils. Incoming freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] plays for the South Sudan team, and he scored two points for his country during its first-ever Olympic win on Sunday.

Khaman Maluach, South Sudan win first Olympic basketball game over Puerto Rico

Khaman Maluach and South Sudan erased a six-point halftime deficit for a resounding victory over Puerto Rico, the country’s first Olympic win.

South Sudan has finally won an Olympic basketball game.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] and his countrymen erased a six-point halftime deficit against Puerto Rico on Sunday for a 90-79 victory, the first South Sudan victory in Olympic basketball history.

Puerto Rico built an eight-point lead in the first quarter alone and led 54-48 at the midway point, but South Sudan held them to 25 points over the final two quarters.

Maluach, an incoming Duke basketball freshman and one of four five-star signees in the 2024 recruiting class, played just six minutes. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in his limited time. Carlik Jones led the team with 19 points, and South Sudan outrebounded Puerto Rico 55-37.

The victory represents the start of group play in the men’s basketball competition. South Sudan and Puerto Rico sit in Group C alongside the United States and Serbia, who play each other later on Sunday. Each country plays the other three once with the top two teams in each group guaranteed to advance into the quarterfinals. One more victory should virtually assure South Sudan’s spot in the final eight.

Maluach’s new teammates in Durham surely rooted him on this morning, and a handful of them included South Sudan in their podium predictions.

Duke basketball players voice support for Khaman Maluach in Olympic predictions

The Duke basketball team gave their Olympic podium predictions on Sunday with a lot of love for Khaman Maluach and jokes for Tyrese Proctor.

The Duke basketball team gave their predictions for the Olympic podium on Saturday, and the Blue Devils resoundingly think Team USA will walk away with yet another gold medal.

The Blue Devils social media team asked every player currently in Durham for their top three, and all but one of them said the United States would win gold.

The lone holdout? [autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag], who of course picked his home country of Australia.

A couple of his American teammates tried to get a rise out of Proctor with the segment as well. [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and Mason Gillis both went out of their way to say Australia wouldn’t medal. Flagg clarified he was only messing with his point guard, but Gillis simply smiled.

The only Blue Devil not with the team right now, incoming freshman [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], will play for South Sudan in Paris. Many of his teammates decided to support him with their predictions. Gillis, Maliq Brown, and Cameron Sheffield all gave their silver medals to South Sudan.

Check out the full predictions below.

Jayson Tatum, Team USA Basketball take photo from opening ceremony at Olympic Games

During Friday’s opening ceremony at the 2024 Olympic Games, former Blue Devil Jayson Tatum and Team USA posed for a group photo in Paris.

The 2024 Olympic Games finally got underway on Friday night, and former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] resumed his quest for a second gold medal.

Before any points or rebounds, however, there must be pictures. Team USA helped lead the country’s athletes in the opening ceremony, and basketball star LeBron James even held the American flag.

Afterward, Tatum and his teammates posed for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower. The photo immortalizes the Blue Devil in history alongside James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis as faces of the country.

A gold medal in Paris would serve as the perfect swan song for Tatum’s summer. The Boston Celtics star won his first NBA title last month, leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists in the process. He made his way onto the All-NBA First Team squad for the third consecutive year, and he’ll grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 70th Anniversary Issue and the NBA 2K25 video game.

Tatum helped Team USA win gold in Tokyo three summers ago, and he seems destined to become the first Duke basketball player with multiple Olympic gold medals.

Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson becomes fifth former Olympian to coach U.S. team

Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson will become the fifth former Olympian to also coach on the American team this summer in Paris.

With the opening ceremonies underway, Kara Lawson is officially back at the Olympic Games.

After helping the United States win the gold medal in women’s basketball in 2008, Lawson accepted a position as an assistant coach with the team for this summer’s tournament in Paris.

The job makes Lawson the fifth woman to ever compete for the United States in women’s basketball and later return to coach the team. She joins Dawn Staley, Pat Summitt, Anne Donovan, and Jennifer Gillom on the esteemed list.

If Duke fans need more reasons for confidence in Lawson than they already have, that list includes nothing but champions. Summitt, of course, won eight national titles at Tennessee. Staley has already won three of her own at South Carolina, including two of the last three, and Donovan led the Seattle Storm to a WNBA title in 2004.

Despite Paris marking her official return to the 5×5 basketball stage, Lawson did win a second gold medal in Tokyo three summers ago. She served as the inaugural U.S. head coach in the first-ever edition of Olympic 3×3 basketball, helping an American squad of Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Allisha Gray, and Stefanie Dolson win gold.

Lawson will join forces with former Duke star Chelsea Gray as the United States looks to clinch yet another gold medal.

Incoming Duke basketball freshman Khaman Maluach makes South Sudan Olympic team

Khaman Maluach, one of Duke’s four five-star signees from the Class of 2024, will play for South Sudan in Paris this summer at the Olympic Games.

After months of speculation and a great exhibition performance against Team USA, [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] officially made the South Sudan Olympic Men’s Basketball team on Wednesday.

The South Sudan Basketball Federation revealed the 12-man Olympic roster bound for Paris, and the 7-footer made the cut.

The NBA Academy Africa product committed to Duke back in March, becoming the sixth and final member of the Blue Devils’ 2024 recruiting class. He’s received some NBA draft lottery hype for 2025 thanks to his height and defensive prowess, and he’s expected to immediately become one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball this fall.

Maluach made a strong impression against the American team on Saturday. He broke free for a running dunk in the first quarter, showed off his shooting ability with a 3-pointer from the corner, and even got the better of former NBA MVP Joel Embiid during a one-on-one possession. South Sudan led for most of the game, but four-time NBA champion LeBron James made a layup in the last 10 seconds for the one-point U.S. victory.

Maluach becomes the second Blue Devil officially on a men’s basketball roster for the Olympics as former Duke star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] joins Team USA for the second time. Former Blue Devil Chelsea Gray also made the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team.

Incoming Duke freshman Khaman Maluach not listed on South Sudanese national team roster

Duke’s Khaman Maluach, whom many thought would assuredly make the South Sudanese Olympic team, isn’t listed on the national team roster.

[autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] might not play in Paris this summer after all.

The 7-footer and incoming Duke freshman seemed like an inevitability after he played for South Sudan at the FIBA Basketball World Cup last year, the team that helped the country qualify for this year’s Olympic Games.

However, as of this week, the men’s national team roster is listed online by the South Sudanese Basketball Federation, and Maluach is nowhere to be seen.

Maluach was given consideration for the squad, proven by an invite to the country’s training camp earlier this month. However, it seems like he won’t be on the 12-man squad.

South Sudan plays the United States in an exhibition game on Saturday. The game, played in London, will be aired on FOX.