Tag: Team USA basketball

Jayson Tatum said nobody was happier than Joe Mazzula about his ‘tough’ Olympics experience

Joe Mazzulla was happy Jayson Tatum didn’t win Finals MVP too.

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The world’s greatest athletes draw motivation from just about anything, big or small. We know that. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise Tuesday to hear Jayson Tatum say he’ll use his experience in this summer’s Olympics as motivation for the upcoming season.

Being benched in two of five games as a recent NBA champion and All-NBA First Team player isn’t a perceived slight. It’s a slight. Intentional or not.

“Motivation? I guess you could say that if you want to simplify,” Tatum told reporters at Celtics media day. “In real time it was tough.”

What he said next, though, was a little surprising to hear.

“I talk to Joe [Mazzulla] a lot. Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn’t win Finals MVP and that I didn’t play in two of the games in the Olympics,” Tatum said. “So, that was odd. But if you know Joe, it makes sense.”

I don’t know Joe. Aside from what he chooses to share with reporters. Like how he watches The Town entirely too much and how he’s probably put more thought into robbing a bank than the average person has. But even the little tidbits we get from the Boston Celtics head coach are enough to understand why he would take joy in his players facing difficult challenges.

This is the same man who was “excited” about a borderline dirty play against Tatum in April, because he wanted to see how his team responded. Mazzulla obviously believes these little obstacles make players better. He would be more disappointed if Tatum didn’t draw motivation from not winning Finals MVP and not being a part of the Olympic rotation.

How far that motivation actually goes remains to be seen. Tatum has been working on fixing his jump shot, which could make the 26-year-old a more lethal player than he already is. So, he’s clearly not resting on his laurels. But he also doesn’t have much to complain about. As Tatum said himself, he won a championship, signed the biggest contract in NBA history and landed the cover of NBA 2K25. Life is good.

Veteran sports writer Frank Isola made that very point Wednesday on SiriusXM’s NBA channel.

“Did I need any extra motivation coming into the season. No. I’m not going to give anybody in particular credit that they’re motivating me to come into the season,” Tatum said.

Motivated or not, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA. They’re +300 favorites at BetMGM to repeat as champions. If they simply play up to the level they’re capable and stay healthy, they’ll be right there in the mix for a title at the end. Tatum can’t manufacture the type of motivation players who haven’t won can.

That’s likely why Mazzulla was happy. Because he knows players that more recently come up short, like Joel Embiid, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton and Donovan Mitchell, are extra motivated. And now they’re hunting the Celtics. Boston can’t afford to let up now.

JJ Redick’s Lakers starting 5

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

JJ Redick was on a recent episode of The Lowe Post podcast with Zach Lowe, and he revealed what his starting lineup is going to be for the Los Angeles Lakers when the season starts.

It’ll be LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.

Surprisingly, it’s a lineup former Lakers coach Darvin Ham didn’t play at all during the first half of the 2023-24 season. But as FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky wrote, it was a very effective lineup once he did come around to it:

“As noted by Redick, the five players mentioned above went “23-10” during their games together last season.

When he was head coach of the Lakers, per Basketball-Reference.com, Ham did not play this five-man group until January 21. That realization somehow took until more than halfway through the season.

But starting from when this group began playing together, it became one of the best high-volume five-man lineups in the league.

Los Angeles has outscored opponents by 9.46 points per 100 possessions in the 547 minutes that this unit has played alongside one another, via PBPStats. It is a data-backed group that performs well on both sides of the ball.”

Sometimes good coaching is just a matter of doing the simple things, like sticking with what works. Good on Redick for doing just that to get things started.

Time will tell if he’s able to make the necessary adjustments when things aren’t working as well.

Shootaround

— LeBron James has already viciously scored on Bronny during a Lakers scrimmage

— Kamala Harris going on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast has NBA fans cracking all the jokes

— Jaylen Brown arrogantly singled out the Pistons with a flex about his leadership style

—  DiJonai Carrington wins 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player

Erik Spoelstra is the obvious choice to replace Steve Kerr as U.S. men’s basketball coach

Erik Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA. He deserves to take over for Steve Kerr with Team USA.

After winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics — even with some unwarranted internal controversy regarding Jayson Tatum — Steve Kerr is reportedly done coaching Team USA men’s basketball, according to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein.

The news does not come as a shock, as the legendary Golden State Warriors head coach has previously told The Athletic he would likely step down as the Americans’ head man after the Paris Games because he always thought the job was like a “baton” to be passed along.

Where it gets interesting is who will likely replace Kerr, especially as the USA program starts looking ahead to Los Angeles in 2028. Stein has said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue are the top two replacement candidates, a decision that feels like a no-brainer either way.

However, let me make the decision for the Americans rather easy.

It should be Spoelstra. Running away.

With no disrespect to Lue, who I think is comfortably a top-five coach in NBA basketball right now, Spoelstra is clearly the best coach in the men’s game. In fact, it’s not even close. Frankly, I was always a little surprised the master tactician from Miami wasn’t the USA coach for this past Olympics cycle, as I actually think Spoelstra is a lot better than Kerr.

Spoelstra’s qualifications basically speak for themselves.

He’s led the Heat to two NBA titles, with six overall appearances in the NBA Finals since 2011. The Heat have missed the playoffs only three times in his entire tenure, which started in the 2008-2009 season. Anyone you talk to about the game often touts Spoelstra’s innate ability to maximize whatever talent he has on hand. He is, in effect, the purveyor of the infamous “Heat Culture” that has become a meme in NBA circles precisely because you really can never count Miami out as long as Spoelstra is coaching. That’s because he’s a brilliant basketball junkie through and through.

Now imagine the guy known for taking “gritty” and often haphazardly pieced-together teams coaching a squad of all the best American players on the planet. Hoo boy. This isn’t to say the Americans are facing any real threat of losing their gold-medal perch in Los Angeles, but more that Spoelstra’s coaching would probably make them somehow even more of a virtual shoo-in.

Make the right decision, USA basketball. Let Kerr pass that baton to Spoelstra. He’s earned it.

NBA reporter expects Paolo Banchero and Cooper Flagg to make Team USA for 2028 Olympics

NBA reporter Evan Sidery listed three young basketball stars expected to play for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics, including two Blue Devils.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] was the only Duke basketball alum on Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games, but NBA reporter Evan Sidery thinks the Americans will look a little more blue in four years.

Sidery listed three young Americans on Monday whom he expects to make the American roster at the 2028 Olympic Games, including former Duke basketball star [autotag]Paolo Banchero[/autotag] and future Duke basketball star [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag].

Banchero nearly made the roster for France this summer, according to a Monday report from The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. Team USA managing director Grant Hill apparently sees his fellow Blue Devil as a future staple of Olympic rosters, and with national team experience at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the Orlando Magic star seems to be getting prepared for future Team USA work.

Flagg might be even more of a lock. The top-ranked player in the Class of 2024 already faced the current Olympic squad with the Select Team at training camp this summer and walked away with the spotlight, making back-to-back baskets during a scrimmage and impressing Kevin Durant.

Fellow Duke alum Zion Williamson will also be a serious candidate for a roster spot if his health cooperates.

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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Grant Hill wins second Olympic gold medal, this time as Team USA managing director

Almost three decades after his 1996 gold medal, Grant Hill won gold again in France on Saturday, this time as the Team USA managing director.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] might have been the only former Duke basketball star on the court for the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games, but he wasn’t the only Blue Devil to win gold.

Grant Hill, one of the best Duke basketball players of all time, helped put Team USA together as the team’s managing director.

Hill was appointed to the position in April 2021, giving him the responsibility of overseeing the American squad for the 2024 Games.

The former Blue Devil actually won gold as a player back in 1996 with the United States, and while he may not match Tatum’s two gold medals on the court, he’s got a second Olympic triumph to his name now.

Hill did more than just put together the Olympic roster. He also assembled the USA Select Team for training camp, a squad that featured future Duke star [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]. Flagg said recently on The Brotherhood Podcast that Hill was the reason he made that roster, an appearance that led to NBA players, coaches, and scouts singing his praises.

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.

France’s Guerschon Yabusele put LeBron James on a poster with a devastating dunk during Olympic gold medal game

Guerschon Yabusele put LeBron James on a POSTER during Saturday’s Paris Olympics gold medal game.

LeBron James is still one of the best basketball players on the planet, but don’t tell that to French forward Guerschon Yabusele. 

Yabusele completed the incredibly difficult task of putting James on a poster on Saturday with this breathtaking dunk during the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal game for men’s basketball.

James had been having a stellar game to that point for Team USA, but the Yabusele dunk absolutely blew the roof off the arena and probably took the wind out of James’ sails for just a moment. 

The former Boston Celtics first-round pick hasn’t played in the NBA in quite some time, but he absolute put down an NBA-worthy highlight on the global stage against one of the best to ever do it. That’s pretty dang impressive.

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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.

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.