Former Boston Celtics draft pick Guerschon Yabusele named among players deserving an NBA contract

It is not just fans of the Boston Celtics clamoring for a return of the Dancing Bear.

It is not just fans of the Boston Celtics clamoring for a return of the Dancing Bear (better known as Guerschon Yabusele in most non-Celtics circles) to the NBA after his transcendent play in the 2024 Paris Olympics. In fact, league analyst Mark Deeks put him at the top of his recent list of players he believes deserve a shot (or in Yabu’s case, a second) at the Association.

The French forward was famously Boston’s No. 16 pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft so he could be stashed for a season. But Yabu likely came over too soon, and ended up seeing his contract cut before it ended. Now, older, wiser, and a much better player, even Yabusele has been clamoring for a shot in the NBA once again. 

“Surrounded by his NBA peers, Yabusele was nonetheless one of the best players on the silver medal-winning French team,” writes Deeks. “Rudy Gobert, one of the world’s best defensive players and the face of the French team, played only 12 minutes in the gold medal match against the USA, largely because Yabusele made him unnecessary.”

The Dancing Bear has been playing for Real Madrid after a short stint in the Chinese Basketball League, and has done well for himself there. “Last season, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game of Euroleague play; perhaps most importantly, he did so with 46.3% 3-point shooting,” notes the H/H analyst.

“(…) Yabusele played his way back into NBA contention with his performances in these games. And he knows it, too.”

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Relive all of Steph Curry’s incredible Team USA 3-pointers from the 2024 Paris Olympics

Steph Curry had an absolutely amazing Paris Olympics.

Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry brought his A-game to the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping lead Team USA to yet another set of gold medals.

His legendary 3-point shooting had no trouble translating from the NBA to the global state at this year’s Olympics, as he hit a number of absolutely thrilling buckets from beyond the arc during the Olympic tournament.

NBC Sports shared a great highlight reel of every single Curry 3-pointer that he made during the Paris Olympics, which is a great way to reflect on how well Curry played to help bring home the gold for Team USA.

We’re still not sure how Curry does it after all these years, but it never gets old.

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Projecting the U.S. men’s basketball roster for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles

Anthony Edwards called next.

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Bryan Kalbrosky.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are in the rearview mirror and to no surprise, the United States once again earned a gold medal in basketball.

Led by a trio of NBA veterans, the U.S. men’s basketball roster was thrilling. Basketball fans were delighted to see LeBron James play with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant at the same time and the results were incredible.

Now that the Olympics will leave France and the United States will become the next host nation, the focus will shift to what the roster could look like in 2028.

It is an impossible question to answer because so much of this depends on health, interest, coaching, development, and various other circumstances we can’t predict.

But based on what we know so far, factoring in age and relationships with the USA Basketball, here is our best guess as of right now:

GUARDS

Anthony Edwards

Devin Booker

Tyrese Haliburton

Donovan Mitchell

Tyrese Maxey

FORWARDS

Jayson Tatum

Paolo Banchero

Scottie Barnes

Cooper Flagg

BIGS

Bam Adebayo

Chet Holmgren

Evan Mobley

Noah Lyles denies beef with Anthony Edwards

Photos by MARTIN BERNETTI Damien MEYER / AFP

U.S. track and field sprinter Noah Lyles caused some more controversy this weekend:

“Two of the biggest stars from the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics were Noah Lyles and Anthony Edwards.

Lyles and Edwards both became first-time Olympic gold medalists this summer. Before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the Olympics this year, Lyles won a gold medal in the 100 meter for track and field. Edwards was a standout performer on the U.S. men’s basketball roster.

Both gold medalists have signed endorsement deals with the shoe company adidas. Recent reporting suggests that there is potentially animosity between the two, but Lyles is attempting to squash those growing rumors.”

You can read more here.

Shootaround

5 things we learned about the NBA (Victor Wembanyama’s rise is truly inevitable) at the Paris Olympics

Tyrese Haliburton had the most perfect post after winning a gold medal despite limited playing time

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

An earthquake interrupted ESPN’s NBA Today show but Malika Andrews handled it like a pro

Swanson fulfills sixth-grade yearbook prophecy with Olympic gold medal

The USWNT star’s prediction from her middle school yearbook has come true

Like many kids, Mallory Swanson dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. On Saturday, the U.S. women’s national team star became one of the rare athletes to actually make that childhood dream come true.

Swanson scored the only goal in the gold medal game, as the USWNT battled to a 1-0 victory over Brazil in Paris.

The strike capped off an excellent tournament for the 26-year-old, who led the team with four goals in France as she delivered a comeback performance for the ages after missing the 2023 World Cup with a knee injury.

The goal also made a dream come true that she articulated in her sixth-grade yearbook. Swanson, née Pugh, posted her yearbook photo on Instagram several years ago, with the caption: “Just a girl with a dream.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz6CYccF3DH/?hl=en&img_index=1

In addition to declaring her favorite sixth-grade memory to be outdoor ed, the youngster also said: “I want to be on the USA soccer team and win a gold medal.”

Roughly 14 years later, Swanson accomplished her lofty goal.

Swanson will add the gold medal to her World Cup title from 2019, as she continues putting together a resume that even her sixth-grade self would have scarcely imagined.

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Noah Lyles denied a rumor that he disrespected Anthony Edwards’ adidas signature shoe release

Noah Lyles is walking back comments he reportedly made about NBA star Anthony Edwards.

Two of the biggest stars from the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics were Noah Lyles and Anthony Edwards.

Lyles and Edwards both became first-time Olympic gold medalists this summer. Before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the Olympics this year, Lyles won a gold medal in the 100 meter for track and field. Edwards was a standout performer on the U.S. men’s basketball roster.

Both gold medalists have signed endorsement deals with the shoe company adidas. Recent reporting suggests that there is potentially animosity between the two, but Lyles is attempting to squash those growing rumors.

Included in a recent feature about Lyles is an anecdote about why the sprinter did not attend a shoe-release event for Edwards. Here is more (via TIME):

When Lyles was negotiating an Adidas contract extension last year, the company, he says, threw him what it thought was a bone. Adidas invited him to the shoe-release event for Anthony Edwards, the rising Minnesota Timberwolves star who’s got plenty of talent but, unlike Lyles, isn’t a six-time world champ. “You want to do what?” says Lyles. “You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don’t even care about? And you’re giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I’m asking is, ‘How could you not see that for me?’”

Lyles, who wondered last year whether or not NBA Finals winners should call themselves world champions, has raised some eyebrows from basketball players and fans.

His reported comments about Edwards’ signature shoe would add further fuel to that fire, especially because the Timberwolves guard is one of the faces of the brand.

But he is creating some distance between himself and the comments that he allegedly made to TIME. He is now suggesting that he could not attend the event based on scheduling conflicts.

He added that Edwards is an “amazing player” and congratulated the former No. 1 overall pick on also becoming a champion at the Olympics.

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ACC wraps up 2024 Paris Olympics with 98 medals

The newest additions to the ACC brought a lot of medals!

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – As the Olympic Games Paris 2024 ended, the Atlantic Coast Conference finished with 98 total medals on the international stage.

The ACC finished the 2024 Olympic Games as the conference with the most medalists and the highest number of gold medals. The league’s 98 total medals included all competition and not just NCAA-sponsored sports.

A total of 13 different schools throughout the ACC won at least one medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics. ACC newcomer Stanford led the way with a school-record 39 medals, which led all NCAA schools. Fellow ACC newcomer California brought 18 medals home to rank second in the league’s standings. Virginia also finished with 14 total medals throughout the 2024 Olympics to finish third.

With 10 representatives from the ACC on the roster, the United States Women’s Soccer team won the gold medal with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Brazil on Saturday, August 10. Five different schools – Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford and Virginia – each had at least one gold medalist on the USWNT.

Former Duke student-athlete Jayson Tatum helped the United States Men’s Basketball team to its fifth consecutive gold medal. In the past two months, the former Blue Devil has now won the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics and an Olympic gold medal with Team USA.

Sunday, August 11, was another stellar day for ACC student-athletes. The day began with seven student-athletes combined from Cal and Stanford helped the United States Men’s Water Polo team claim the bronze medal with a shootout victory over Hungary. The bronze medal was the United States’ first in men’s water polo since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Stanford picked up another medal when Alanna Smith won the bronze medal in women’s basketball while representing Australia.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games concluded with the United States Women’s Basketball team earning its eighth straight gold medal with a thrilling victory over the host country, France. Team USA had four ACC representatives with North Dame’s Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young and Duke’s Jackie Young as players alongside Blue Devils’ head coach Kara Lawson, who served as an assistant coach.

The ACC launched a microsite dedicated entirely to the 2024 Olympic Games and covering the participants with ties to the league. With links to stories, school-specific coverage, medal tracking, social media and more, the ACC will provide comprehensive coverage throughout the Olympic games. The site also includes an ACC Olympic spot which can be found HERE.

 

A full list of Olympians with ties to the ACC can be found HERE.

 

Here is the breakdown of the medals won by those affiliated with the league members of the ACC throughout the 2024 Olympic Games:

Gold Medals (37)

Korbin Albert, USA – Notre Dame (Women’s Soccer)

Jack Alexy, USA – Cal (Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Valarie Allman, USA – Stanford (Women’s Discus Throw)

Katharine Berkoff, USA – NC State (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Tierna Davidson, USA – Stanford (Women’s Soccer)

Pien Dicke, Netherlands – Virginia (Women’s Field Hockey)

Kate Douglass, USA – Virginia (Women’s 200m Breaststroke)

Kate Douglass, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Crystal Dunn, USA – North Carolina (Women’s Soccer)

Emily Fox, USA – North Carolina (Women’s Soccer)

Naomi Girma, USA – Stanford (Women’s Soccer)

Chelsea Gray, USA – Duke (Women’s Basketball)

Chris Guiliano, USA – Notre Dame (Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Ryan Held, USA – NC State (Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Torri Huske, USA – Stanford (Women’s 100m Butterfly)

Torri Huske, USA – Stanford (Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay)

Torri Huske, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Lee Kiefer, USA – Notre Dame (Women’s Individual Foil)

Lee Kiefer, USA – Notre Dame (Women’s Team Foil)

Vivian Kong, Hong Kong, China – Stanford (Women’s Épée)

Casey Krueger, USA – Florida State (Women’s Soccer)

Katie Ledecky, USA – Stanford (Women’s 800m Freestyle)

Katie Ledecky, USA – Stanford (Women’s 1,500m Freestyle)

Jewell Loyd, USA – Notre Dame (Women’s Basketball)

Ryan Murphy, USA – Cal (Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay)

Jenna Nighswonger, USA – Florida State (Women’s Soccer)

Camryn Rogers, Canada – Cal (Women’s Hammer Throw)

Emily Sams, USA – Florida State (Women’s Soccer)

Regan Smith, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Sophia Smith, USA – Stanford (Women’s Soccer)

Emily Sonnett, USA – Virginia (Women’s Soccer)

Rojé Stona, Jamaica – Clemson (Men’s Discus Throw)

Jayson Tatum, USA – Duke (Men’s Basketball)

Gretchen Walsh, USA – Virginia (Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay)

Gretchen Walsh, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Emma Weber, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Jackie Young, USA – Notre Dame (Women’s Basketball)

 

Silver Medals (29)*

Mykolas Alekna, Lithuania – Cal (Men’s Discus Throw)

Jack Alexy, USA – Cal (Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Kassidy Cook, USA – Stanford (3M Synchronized Springboard Diving)

Kate Douglass, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Kate Douglass, USA – Virginia (Women’s 200m Individual Medley)

Megumi Field, USA – Stanford (Artistic Swimming)

Caileigh Filmer, Canada – Cal (Women’s Eight Rowing)

Chris Guiliano, USA – Notre Dame (Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay)

Torri Huske, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Torri Huske, USA – Stanford (Women’s 100m Freestyle)

Dani Jackovich, Australia – Stanford (Women’s Water Polo)

Audrey Kwon, USA – Stanford (Artistic Swimming)

Katie Ledecky, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay)

Jacklyn Luu, USA – Stanford (Artistic Swimming)

Ollie Maclean, New Zealand – Cal (Men’s Four Rowing)

Paige Madden, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay)

Simone Manuel, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Simone Manuel, USA – Stanford (Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay)

Ryan Murphy, USA – Cal (Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay)

Sydney Payne, Canada – Cal (Women’s Eight Rowing)

Morgan Pearson, USA – Duke (Triathlon Mixed Relay)

Kathryn Plummer, USA – Stanford (Women’s Volleyball)

Diana Shnaider, Italy – NC State (Women’s Tennis Doubles)

Regan Smith, USA – Stanford (Women’s 100m Backstroke)

Regan Smith, USA – Stanford (Women’s 200m Backstroke)

Regan Smith, USA – Stanford (Women’s 200m Butterfly)

Gretchen Walsh, USA – Virginia (Women’s 100m Butterfly)

Gretchen Walsh, USA – Virginia (Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

Abbey Weitzeil USA – Cal (Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay)

 

*includes five medals that were won in non-NCAA sponsored sports

Bronze Medals (32)*

Georgia Bell, Great Britain – Cal (Women’s 1,500m Run)

David Betlehem, USA – NC State (Men’s 10KM – Open Water)

Julia Bergmann, Brazil – Georgia Tech (Women’s Volleyball)

Katharine Berkoff, USA – NC State (Women’s 100m Backstroke)

Alex Bowen, USA – Stanford (Men’s Water Polo)

Luca Cupido, USA – Cal (Men’s Water Polo)

Grant Fisher, USA – Stanford (Men’s 10,000m Run)

Grant Fisher, USA – Stanford (Men’s 5,000m Run)

Ben Hallock, USA – Stanford (Men’s Water Polo)

Dearica Hamby, USA – Wake Forest (Women’s 3×3 Basketball)

Hans Henken, USA – Stanford (Men’s Sailing Skiff)

Drew Holland, USA – Stanford (Men’s Water Polo)

Asher Hong, USA – Stanford (Men’s Team Artistic Gymnastics)

Johnny Hooper, USA – Cal (Men’s Water Polo)

Nick Itkin, USA – Notre Dame (Men’s Individual Foil)

Kitty Lynn Joustra, Netherlands – Cal (Women’s Water Polo)

Katie Ledecky, USA – Stanford (Women’s 400m Freestyle)

Heidi Long, Great Britain – Virginia (Women’s Eight Rowing)

Paige Madden, USA – Virginia (Women’s 800m Freestyle)

Brody Malone, USA – Stanford (Men’s Team Artistic Gymnastics)

Rowan McKellar, Great Britain – Cal (Women’s Eight Rowing)

Esther Muhari, Hungary – Notre Dame (Women’s Épée)

Ryan Murphy, USA – Cal (Men’s 100m Backstroke)

Alysha Newman, Canada – Miami (Women’s Pole Vault)

Yared Nuguse, USA – Notre Dame (Men’s 1,500m Run)

Erik Shoji, USA – Stanford (Men’s Volleyball)

Alanna Smith, Australia – Stanford (Women’s Basketball)

Christian Tabash, USA – Cal (Men’s Eight Rowing)

Naya Tapper, USA – North Carolina (Women’s Sevens Rugby)

Hattie Taylor, Great Britain – Syracuse (Women’s Eight Rowing)

Adrian Weinberg, USA – Cal (Men’s Water Polo)

Dylan Woodhead, USA – Stanford (Men’s Water Polo)

ESPN projects Caitlin Clark to star for USA Basketball in 2028 Olympics

Never too early to look at the next Olympics.

Fresh off of a thrilling 67-66 gold medal victory, it seems that all eyes are turning to the next Summer Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw the USA women’s basketball team secure gold on the back of A’Ja Wilson and stake their claim as the most dominant country for women’s basketball.

That said, all attention has quickly turned to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and one large talking point is the future presence of Caitlin Clark on Team USA.

Like CBS Sports guaranteeing her place on the 2028 roster, ESPN’s 2028 Team USA roster projections have Caitlin Clark starring for the team in the next Olympics.

Caitlin Clark, G, Indiana Fever

Age for 2028 Olympics: 26
Previous Olympic experience: none

Clark’s omission from the 2024 team has been a subject of much debate. Her fans wanted to see her in Paris. Her game has matured at such a rapid pace, she wouldn’t have been out of place as a young star learning from the Team USA vets. But coach Cheryl Reeve didn’t want a WNBA rookie on this roster, and Clark likely wouldn’t have been given much playing time. The rest Clark has gotten should help her during the remainder of her rookie season. Everything points to Clark being in Los Angeles in 2028. – Michael Voepel, ESPN

Caitlin Clark will be more than ready for the next Olympics. Her absence on the 2024 roster was glaring but won’t occur again. Given four years of WNBA experience to build upon her already strong skillset will make her a key contributor for the next Olympics.

Other intriguing names projected to make the roster include a group of young stars that could shape the next era of women’s basketball in the United States.

ESPN is projecting Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, and JuJu Watkins to suit up alongside Clark as a group of young, generational talents.

The rest of the roster includes A’Ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Aliyah Boston, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Sabrina Ionescu.

Contact/Follow on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7

Former Alabama SF Herb Jones projected to be on 2028 US Olympic Team

2028 US Men’s Olympic Basketball team projected to include former Alabama F Herb Jones.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially concluded Sunday evening, but the US Men’s Basketball Team slammed the door shut on the whole event Saturday as they took home the gold medal over host country France.

For the United States, it was the conclusion of this era of basketball as it is likely the last time we will see LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry dawn the red white and blue. This year’s tournament marked the fifth straight gold medal for the US and a staggering eight of the last nine.

The rest of the world continues to get better at a very rapid rate, but with the 2028 Olympic Games taking place on US soil, they will once again be the team to beat. CBS Sports projects what the US roster will look like for the Los Angeles Olympics games. Anthony Edwards and Jason Tatum should both be back with Team USA, but other than them, it could be a whole new cast of players. Sam Quinn of CBS projects former Alabama Crimson Tide SF Herb Jones to be on the team saying,

“Speaking of weaker offensive links, here’s our big bigger wing defender who is also steadily improving but by no means proven shooter. From a rotation stand point, Jones and Suggs would likely be used depending on matchups. Suggs makes more sense against guards. Jones makes more sense against wings or even centersm though he can handle guards quite well in his own right.”

Jones was outstanding for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2023-24 as he averaged 11.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 2.6 apg and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. The former second-round pick may go down as one of the best value picks in NBA draft history.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Who is the greatest Boston Celtics player in the Olympics of all time?

We’ll give you a clue — this one goes to 11.

The Boston Celtics certainly have no shortage of candidates to consider when trying to nail down exactly which of the storied ball club’s many stars is the team’s greatest Olympic basketball player of all time. But one name in particular stands above the rest, a towering figure on and off the court, and quite literally.

This player was the choice of Bleacher Report NBA analyst Andy Bailey, who also came to the only logical assessment of the Celtics’ Olympic G.O.A.T. — and of course it is none other than William Felton Russell. Bill Russell was an Olympic-class athlete, and not just in basketball, where he would win gold in 1956.

Russell would have competed as a high jumper had he not been permitted to play for Team USA in basketball, and may well have medaled there too. 

“Throughout his NBA career, Russell was obviously known more (or at least as much) for his defense, but he led the 1956 Olympic team in scoring at 14.1 points,” writes Bailey.

“And his leadership in that tournament proved prognostic. The summer of 1956 was Russell’s last before joining the ranks of the NBA, where he won 11 championships.”

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Did US National Team head coach Steve Kerr mismanage his roster despite winning gold?

Or do the ends justify the means when it comes to US dominance in Men’s 5 × 5 basketball in the Olympics?

Did US National Team head coach Steve Kerr mismanage his roster despite winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Does it even matter that his hockey substitution pattern was weird, and his matchup-oriented philosophy alienating players like star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum that Team USA will need in the future?

Or do the ends justify the means when it comes to US dominance in Men’s 5 × 5 basketball in the Olympics? There is a surprising depth and breadth of opinions in the wider basketball community on this topic in recent days. And the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast linked up with the Ringer’s Brian Barrett to talk it over on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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