Tag: Duke in the Olympics

Jayson Tatum becomes first Duke basketball player with two Olympic gold medals

With his second consecutive Olympic gold medal secured on Saturday, Jayson Tatum made Duke basketball history in France.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] secured his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in France on Saturday, helping the USA defeat the hosting French team 98-87 in the final game.

The former Duke basketball star became the first Blue Devil to ever win two gold medals as a player at the Olympic Games.

Tatum scored two points (in the form of a breakaway dunk in transition) and snagged three rebounds off the bench in the title game on Saturday.

In his last gold medal game, also against France back in 2021, he scored 19 points and came down with seven boards.

Six other Duke men’s basketball players have won gold at the Olympics, all with the United States. Jeff Mullins (1964) and Tate Armstrong (1976) both got their gold medals before professional players could make the team. Christian Laettner (1992), Grant Hill (1996), Carlos Boozer (2008), and Kyrie Irving (2016) have all secured their gold medals since that rule changed, although Laettner was still coming off his last national title with the Blue Devils.

The summer of 2024 has been one for the history books with Jayson Tatum. He also won his first NBA title with the Boston Celtics earlier this year after making the All-NBA First Team for the third consecutive time. Only three other players have ever done all three of those things in the same calendar year.

Duke women’s basketball alum Chelsea Gray could join Tatum with a second gold medal of her own on Sunday when the United States takes on France (yes, again) in the women’s gold medal game.

Jayson Tatum wins second consecutive Olympic gold medal with USA Basketball

Jayson Tatum and Team USA took down France on Saturday at the 2024 Olympic Games, winning Tatum his second consecutive gold medal.

For the second straight Olympic Games, former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] walked away with a gold medal.

The United States took down France, the host country, in Saturday’s gold medal match by a score of 98-87.

NBA legend Steph Curry put the American team on his back down the stretch, making four 3-pointers in the closing five minutes to finish with 24 points. Tatum added two points, his lone basket coming on a runaway dunk in transition, and three rebounds to the victorious effort from the bench.

The U.S. also beat France in the gold medal game back at the last Olympics in Tokyo. Tatum played a much larger role in that 2021 triumph, coming off the bench again but adding 19 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

Tatum also notched his first Olympic double-double against Puerto Rico earlier in this year’s Games. The second gold comes less than two months after he won his first NBA title with the Boston Celtics.

Jayson Tatum’s parents express frustration with Olympic basketball rotation

After Jayson Tatum rode the Olympic bench for the second time in five games on Thursday, his parents took their frustrations to social media

The United States men’s basketball team might have reached the gold medal game at the 2024 Olympic Games, but the run has not come without its controversy.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag], fresh off his first NBA title and third consecutive All-NBA First Team nomination with the Boston Celtics, didn’t play a single minute against Serbia in the semifinals. Team USA trailed by more than a dozen points at the start of the fourth quarter, needing a miraculous comeback to defeat the Serbians.

The United States played Serbia in the first game of pool play during this summer’s Olympics, and Tatum didn’t play in that game either. After the Americans clinched victory, Tatum’s parents took to social media to voice their confusion and frustration.

With fans questioning whether Tatum was dealing with an injury, his mother, Brandy Cole-Barnes, shut that rumor down.

“No he not,” she wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “But if you find out what’s going on please let me know – unacceptable and makes NO SENSE.”

Steve Kerr, the American head coach, explained after the semifinal game that Tatum’s absence had nothing to do with the Boston star’s play. Tatum’s father, Justin Tatum, didn’t care for the message.

“Man please,” Justin wrote on X. “Miss me with that BS!!”

Tatum could become the fourth NBA player in history to make the All-NBA First Team, win an NBA title, and win an Olympic gold medal in the same summer.

Tatum could become the fourth NBA player to accomplish this Olympic feat on Saturday

Team USA takes on France for the Olympic gold medal on Saturday, and Jayson Tatum could do something only three NBA legends ever accomplished before.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] would make some Duke basketball history on Saturday with a victory in the Olympic gold medal game, but he would carve out a place in NBA history as well.

Tatum looks to win his second consecutive gold medal at the Olympic Games, the first Blue Devil to accomplish that feat. However, he could also join Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and LeBron James as the only basketball players ever to make the All-NBA First Team, win an NBA title, and win Olympic gold in the same season.

Only six players have ever won the NBA Finals and the Olympic men’s basketball tournament in the same summer, including Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton in 2021. However, the All-NBA First Team aspect makes the list even more esteemed. Jordan did so twice in 1992 and 1996, and Pippen matched him as his Chicago Bulls teammate the second time.

James, who pulled off the trifecta in 2012, is the only player to do so this century.

Tatum made his third First Team in a row earlier this season with the Boston Celtics en route to the team’s first championship since 2008. He and Team USA take on France at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Team USA coach explains Tatum’s Olympic semifinal absence wasn’t because of Tatum

For the second time in five games, Jayson Tatum didn’t see the court on Thursday. His coach insisted, again, that it wasn’t a Tatum problem.

If someone polled Team USA Basketball fans before the 2024 Olympic Games, it’s fair to wonder what would surprise them more: the United States playing the Serbian national team twice in France or former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] not playing a single minute in either game.

Tatum didn’t play against three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Serbians in the first game of group play last week, a decision U.S. head coach Steve Kerr defended as what the matchup demanded.

The United States needed a miraculous comeback in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s semifinal game, coming from more than a dozen points down, but Tatum never saw the court in the effort. Kerr, after the game, again insisted that it wasn’t a personal choice.

“It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson. It’s what I’ve seen from the other guys,” Kerr said in an article from The Associated Press’s Tim Reynolds. “Like I’ve said many times during this tournament and this last six weeks, it’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game.”

“It’s just a math problem more than anything,” Kerr concluded.

Tatum, who recently won his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, also helped the United States capture gold in the most recent Olympic Games in Tokyo three years ago.

USA women’s basketball and former Blue Devil Chelsea Gray reach Olympic gold medal match

Chelsea Gray, who played for the Duke Blue Devils from 2010-14, will play for a second Olympic gold medal on Sunday.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag] gets her shot at a second consecutive Olympic gold medal on Sunday.

The United States, in search of an eighth consecutive gold in women’s basketball, defeated Australia 85-64 in the Olympic semifinals on Friday. The Americans held their opponents to 11 second-quarter points, surging out to an 18-point lead at the midway mark.

Gray finished with five points, five assists, and three rebounds for the game. The famed point guard played her role perfectly, dealing more assists than field goals attempted (four).

Gray has already won three WNBA championships, including each of the last two with the Las Vegas Aces. With a WNBA Finals MVP, an All-WNBA First Team nomination, and four All-Stars on her resume, a second gold medal would make her one of the century’s most accomplished players from any school, not just the Blue Devils.

The United States plays the winner of Friday’s second semifinal game between Belgium and France.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag], another former Duke basketball player on Team USA, will try for a second consecutive gold medal of his own during Saturday’s title game against France in the men’s bracket.

Jayson Tatum and Team USA Basketball finish Olympic pool play undefeated

Team USA, with the help of Duke basketball legend Jayson Tatum, won its third Olympic basketball game on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] and Team USA kept rolling at the 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday with a 104-83 victory over Puerto Rico.

The win, the third American triumph in pool play, officially clinched their spot in the elimination bracket. Team USA previously faced Serbia and South Sudan in Group C, winning both of those games comfortably as well.

Puerto Rico got off to a great start, scoring 29 points in the opening quarter, but Team USA roared back in the second 10-minute frame. The Americans scored 39 points, and before their opponents could blink, the lead was nearly 20.

Tatum, who worked his way into the starting lineup, finished with his first double-double of this year’s Games after he scored 10 points and tallied 10 rebounds. He added three assists and two steals to his exceptional performance, a far cry from his zero minutes during the opener against Serbia.

Tatum isn’t the only undefeated Blue Devil in the men’s basketball competition. Former Duke star RJ Barrett and the Canadian team also won all three games to advance in the bracket.

Team USA clinches the top overall seed in the quarterfinals thanks to their point differential.

Jayson Tatum in Team USA starting lineup for final group stage game against Puerto Rico

The U.S. men’s basketball team takes on Puerto Rico for the final game of Olympic pool play on Saturday, andJayson Tatum made the starting lineup

The United States men’s basketball team concludes pool play at the 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday against Puerto Rico.

Ahead of the game, the team announced through social media that former Blue Devil [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] would make the starting lineup.

Tatum, who recently won his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, notably did not play in Team USA’s first game against Serbia. Social media questioned the decision, citing the Duke legend’s credentials at the age of 26, but coach Steve Kerr insisted he’d include Tatum later on in the Olympics.

In the Americans’ second game in Paris, Tatum scored four points and came away with five rebounds in a victory over South Sudan.

Tatum also won a battle of the Blue Devils in that game. Incoming Duke basketball star [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], a five-star 7-footer and a member of Jon Scheyer’s esteemed 2024 recruiting class, made the South Sudan Olympic roster, but he only played two minutes against Team USA.

NBA legends LeBron James and Steph Curry, former NBA MVP Joel Embiid, and Devin Booker started alongside Tatum.

Chelsea Gray and Team USA beat Belgium for second Olympic victory

Former Duke women’s basketball star Chelsea Gray helped lead the U.S. to a second Olympic win on Thursday, an 87-74 victory over Belgium.

Former Duke star [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag] and the U.S. women’s basketball team moved one step closer to a gold medal on Thursday.

Team USA easily dispatched Belgium for an 87-74 victory, giving the Americans a 2-0 record in pool play.

The game sat knotted at 23 points each after 10 minutes, but Team USA held Belgium to 15 second-quarter points to build an eight-point halftime lead. After hovering around that same mark for most of the second half, the United States rattled off seven unanswered points midway through the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to double digits.

Gray, a three-time WNBA champion, finished the game with three assists and a steal. The Las Vegas Aces guard stole the show during an opening victory over Japan, dealing out 13 assists in the dominant victory.

Thursday’s win virtually assured Team USA of a spot in the quarterfinals as the top two teams from each four-country group clinch a spot in the elimination bracket.

Gray also helped the United States win gold at the Tokyo Olympics three summers ago.

Sofia Roma, Puerto Rico women’s basketball team drop Olympic heartbreaker against Spain

Sofia Roma, who played for Duke women’s basketball from 2016-19, and Puerto Rico lost to Spain 63-62 in Olympic group play on Wednesday.

Former Duke women’s basketball player Sofia Roma and the Puerto Rican Olympic basketball team lost a one-point heartbreaker to Spain on Wednesday.

Puerto Rico only scored nine points in the opening quarter, trailing by that same margin after Spain scored 18. The Spanish team widened the gap in the second quarter, building a 39-25 advantage by the midway point.

Roma and her teammates heard no bell, however. Puerto Rico dominated the third quarter, outscoring their opponents 19-5 to tie the game at 44 points apiece with one quarter to play.

The improbable comeback was on, and Puerto Rico seemed destined for a much-needed victory. After an opening loss to Serbia in group play, a second defeat would almost assuredly keep Roma and her teammates from advancing to the elimination bracket. With five minutes left, Puerto Rico led 57-53, seemingly marching toward a 1-1 record.

However, after pulling within a point, Spain’s Laura Gil earned two trips to the free-throw line in the final two seconds of the game. She buried them both, giving her country a 63-62 victory.

Roma finished with one point in 14 minutes of action.

Roma, who began her collegiate career with Wagner, transferred to Duke ahead of the 2016-17 season. She played in 35 games across her last two seasons with the Blue Devils