Tag: Olympic basketball

Watch the moment Chelsea Gray heard she’d be on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team

Chelsea Gray, a four-year star on the Duke women’s basketball team a decade ago, gets to chase her second gold medal this summer in Paris.

For the second time in her illustrious career, former Duke women’s basketball star Chelsea Gray is an Olympian.

USA Basketball shared several social media videos on Tuesday capturing the moment that members of the team learned they’d play in Paris. Gray got her moment alongside Las Vegas Aces teammates A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, who all made the team as well.

The four teammates, who combined to win the last two WNBA championships, embraced in a group hug after the announcement.

“It’s a blessing,” Gray said, wiping tears from her eyes after she got to see her Olympic jersey. “This was always the dream, just didn’t know if it was possible so I’m excited.”

Gray hasn’t played since she injured her foot during the 2023 WNBA Finals, but the three-time champion put up a career-high 7.3 assists last season. She also averaged 42.1% from 3-point range as well, the second-best mark of her career, and a personal-best 15.3 points per game.

Gray helped the United States take home the gold in Tokyo during the most recent Games three years ago.

USA Basketball shares first look at Duke women’s basketball alum Chelsea Gray’s Olympic jersey

USA Basketball unveiled Chelsea Gray’s Olympic jersey for this summer in Paris as the former Blue Devil makes her second Olympic run.

USA Basketball officially unveiled Chelsea Gray’s jersey for the 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday as the national team got officially filled out.

The team revealed that Gray, a three-time WNBA Champion, will wear No. 8 in Paris as she chases a second gold medal.

Gray played for the Blue Devils from 2010-14. She averaged at least 10 points per game in each of her final three seasons in Durham, and her 194 total assists as a sophomore remain a single-season school record. She was actually on pace for a higher total as a senior, when she averaged 7.2 dimes per game but only played 17 times.

Now a 10-year WNBA veteran, Gray helped the Las Vegas Aces win each of the last two championships. A career 38.6% 3-point shooter, the Blue Devil has remained one of the best passers in the league for her entire career. She’s averaged at least five assists per game in the last five seasons, including a career-high 7.3 in 2023.

Gray hasn’t played since the 2023 WNBA Finals, when she suffered a left foot injury, but she already won one gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Tominaga to skip NBA Summer League for 2024 Summer Olympics

Keisei Tominaga has been named to Japan’s Pre-Olympic Training Camp roster.

A Nebraska guard has decided to skip the NBA Summer League for a chase to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Keisei Tominaga has been named to Japan’s Pre-Olympic Training Camp roster.

Robin Washut of Husker Online has reported that Tominaga will not participate in the NBA Summer League. He will instead focus on making Japan’s 2024 Summer Olympic roster for the upcoming Paris Games and plans to earn an NBA offer after the Games.

Tominaga has Olympic experience. He previously represented his country at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 3×3 basketball and led the team in scoring with 6.9 points per game.

Basketball for the 2024 Summer Olympics will take place from July 27 to August 11, 2024.

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Jayson Tatum officially announced as member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team

Jayson Tatum will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games, USA Basketball officially revealed on Wednesday.

The United States officially revealed its 2024 men’s basketball team on Wednesday morning, and former Duke star Jayson Tatum grabbed one of the 12 spots.

The idea that Tatum would make the team was by no means groundbreaking, as reports began to circulate about his spot on the team more than a day before the roster reveal. However, the social media announcement from USA Basketball made the idea official.

Tatum, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, averaged 26.9 points this season, his fourth consecutive season averaging at least 26.0 points per game, and he added 8.1 rebounds and a career-high 4.9 assists.

The 26-year-old has been named an All-Star in each of the past five seasons. He earned his first All-NBA First Team designation in 2022, an honor he repeated last season and seems like a contender for again in 2024.

Tatum’s Celtics, the only team with 60 wins this regular season, clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming playoffs. At 64-18, no team in the conference came within 13 games of them.

Paris will be Tatum’s second Olympic Games after he helped the United States win gold in Tokyo during the 2020 Olympics.

Michigan State basketball great Jaren Jackson Jr. named to US Basketball Olympic National Team player pool

Jaren Jackson Jr. named to US Basketball Olympic National Team player pool

This past summer, Jaren Jackson Jr. had a bit of a breakout moment on the United States National Select Basketball team, when he became arguably the star of that group on both ends of the floor. On Tuesday, USA Basketball revealed the 41-player pool they will be using to select the 12-person Olympic team, and Jaren Jackson Jr., unsurprisingly, was on that list.

The group was compiled by NCAA and NBA legend Grant Hill.

You can see all 41 members of the player pool below:

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24 national hoops teams who will compete for the final 4 spots in the 2024 Olympics

Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo need these tournaments to make the Olympics.

Only 12 national teams will compete to win basketball gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and we already know eight of the competitors.

24 teams, however, are eligible to compete for the final four spots in the tournament. The following teams, many of which qualified based on their play at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, will be divided into four groups of six at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.

Each tournament will be hosted by one of the six participating national federations. Each continent is expected to host one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

The winner of each of these four tournaments will join the eight teams that have already qualified, including the USA and Canada, at the Paris Olympics.

Some of the national teams with the most medals in Olympic basketball history (e.g. Spain, Brazil, Lithuania and Italy) are among those who will have to fight for a spot in Paris.

Several notable players (e.g. Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dominican Republic’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Finland’s Lauri Markkanen and Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis) will need to use this tournament to advance as well.

The Bahamas had a super fun celebration after winning an Olympic basketball qualifying tournament

This was HISTORIC for the Bahamas.

Although the Bahamas did not qualify for the FIBA World Cup, the national team just went on a wildly impressive stretch of play.

The team played four games in a FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament over the course of the last week. Despite a low world ranking (56) in FIBA, they won four games in a row, including two shocking wins over Argentina (ranked fourth in the world) while playing at Estadio Ciudad in Santiago del Estero, Argentina

By winning this tournament, the Bahamian national team can make a bid for the 2024 Olympics in France at the FIBA ​​Olympic Qualifying Tournaments next year.

The Bahamian national basketball team has never competed in the Olympics, so this was obviously exciting and the joy was palpable:

The Bahamas were led by Phoenix Suns teammates Deandre Ayton (15.5 ppg, 13.8 rpg and 1.3 spg) and Eric Gordon (20.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg). Gordon finished with 27 points while shooting 6-of-7 on 3-pointers.

Pacers wing Buddy Hield (19.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.3 spg) also played a massive role during the four-game tournament as well.

This was a huge step in the right direction for the Bahamas, coached by Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco. We wish we could see how they would fare in the upcoming FIBA World Cup!

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Husker to player for Team Netherlands in FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament

A Nebraska men’s basketball player will be participating in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament next week.

A Nebraska men’s basketball player will participate in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament next week. Forward Rienk Mast will try and help the Netherlands advance in the tournament, which is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mast is making his second appearance for the senior National Team and his first appearance since 2019. During the 2019 Basketball World Cup, he averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in three contests.

The Netherlands will play Sweeden, Belgium, and Croatia during pool play. Should the Netherlands advance from pool play and win the tournament, they would qualify for one of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments next summer.

Mast will spend his first year at Nebraska after having previously played at Bradley University. Last year, he was a member of the All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team, averaging 13.8 points per game and 8.0 rebounds.

A photo gallery of Mast’s college basketball career can be found below.

USA vs. France live stream, TV channel, start time, odds, how to watch the gold medal game

The U.S. men’s basketball team will face France in the gold medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Friday night.

The U.S. men’s basketball team will face France in the gold medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Friday night.

Team USA will be looking for some revenge after France handed them their only loss of the Olympics and will need a win against the French to take home the gold medal for the fourth straight time. Meanwhile, France has some bigs down low that will definitely create some opportunities against the Americans while they look to beat the United States twice in tonight’s game.

This should be a great matchup, here is everything you need to know including the TV channel, start time, and live-streaming information.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Gold Medal Game

USA vs. France

  • When: Friday, August 6
  • Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: NBC
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

Olympic Basketball Odds and Betting Lines

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds last updated Friday at 4:35 p.m. ET.

USA (-13.5) vs. France 

O/U: 175.5

Want some action on the Olympics? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ, and WV at BetMGM.

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A complete look at Team USA’s Olympic schedule

A look at the Team USA men’s basketball 2020 Olympics schedule

With the 2020 Olympics just two weeks away, Team USA and Celtics star Jayson Tatum are preparing to try and win a fourth consecutive Gold Medal in men’s basketball.

The Americans are set to take on three group stage opponents in Japan and hope to advance all the way to August 6th’s Gold Medal game. Before getting underway in late July, the squad will play a set of exhibition games in Las Vegas. The team is in Las Vegas from July 6-18 for training camp and those practice contests.

Here is a look at the entire USA schedule once the team gets to the 2020 Olympics: