Tag: Team USA

Chet Holmgren included in 2024 Team USA player pool

Chet Holmgren included in 2024 Team USA player pool ahead of Olympics.

The 41-member 2024 USA Basketball men’s player pool was announced on Tuesday. The 12-player 2024 USA men’s team will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

The Oklahoma City Thunder have one player in the pool: rookie center Chet Holmgren. The 21-year-old was on the 2023 USA Basketball men’s select team this past offseason.

Holmgren is part of an impressive young trio that has led the Thunder to a 29-13 record and has them fighting for first place in the West halfway through the season.

Holmgren was drafted with the No. 2 pick of the 2022 NBA draft. In 42 games this season, he’s averaging 17.3 points on 54.2% shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He’s shooting 38.6% from 3 on 4.2 attempts.

The full 41-player pool can be read below:

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Ryder Cup Europe wishes you all a Merry Christmas (while dunking on Team USA)

“Merry Christmas from everyone at Ryder Cup Europe,” said captain Luke Donald, “and a happy two more years.”

When it comes to online content, the DP World Tour has dominated on social media compared to other tours and golf’s governing bodies. That’s why it’s no surprise that Ryder Cup Europe shared a hilarious video on Saturday.

In the video, winning 2023 captain and future 2025 captain Luke Donald is seen polishing one of seven Ryder Cups (most likely to represent the seven victories Team Europe has in the biennial bash against the Americans in the last 20 years).

“Merry Christmas from everyone at Ryder Cup Europe,” Donald said, “and a happy two more years.”

The 2025 event will be held Sept. 25–28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. As mentioned earlier, Donald will return for two more years as the captain of the Europeans, while the U.S. have yet to announce a captain.

The video paid homage to some of the best chants from the 2023 edition in Italy – where the Europeans dominated – including Team Europe and Rory McIlroy’s celebration song, “the USA is terrified, Europe’s on fire.”

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Team USA defeats Lady Vols in exhibition game

Team USA defeats Lady Vols in exhibition game.

Team USA defeated No. 12 Tennessee, 95-59, Sunday in an exhibition game at Food City Center.

Team USA led, 52-31, at halftime.

Rickea Jackson (15) was the lone player to score 10-plus points for the Lady Vols.

Jillian Hollingshead scored eight points, while Tess Darby and Kaiya Wynn scored seven points each.

Team USA played the first of two exhibition contests against college basketball teams.

Team USA will play Duke on Nov. 12 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for noon EST. Former Lady Vol Kara Lawson serves as Duke’s head coach.

Jackie Young scored 13 points to lead Team USA against the Lady Vols.

PHOTOS: Kellie Harper through the years

2023 Ryder Cup in Italy sets TV viewership record

It was a record-breaking week near Rome.

More than 270,000 people from 100 different countries attended the 2023 Ryder Cup to watch the Europeans defeat the Americans, 16½-11½, and reclaim the cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, Italy.

Even more watched from home.

On Tuesday, Ryder Cup Europe shared early numbers that showed a rise in average viewership on Sky Sports, particularly in the United Kingdom, which saw a 38 percent increase compared to the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits and a 25 percent increase from the last European-hosted Cup in 2018 at Le Golf National near Paris.

“The 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy once again underlined the global appeal and continued growth of one of the world’s leading sporting events,” said Guy Kinnings, Executive Director of the Ryder Cup. “This year’s contest, played against the backdrop of the historic city of Rome, truly connected with fans around the world, and our early figures show significant increases in engagement even from the recent record-breaking editions.”

While the 2023 edition was the most watched Ryder Cup ever on Sky Sports, the NBC Sports coverage in the United States left fans wanting more.

Not even two hours into the coverage of the Friday foursomes matches and television viewers who were awake at 1 a.m. ET for the start were already fed up with the coverage (or lack thereof).

Airing on USA Network, the broadcast missed the introductions and tee shots from the third match of Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka vs. Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa and showed more commercials than golf shots. This year’s broadcast featured a score bug in the bottom right of the screen that showed the matches and live results, which was a nice innovation, except when the coverage didn’t provide context for how those scores came to be.

The 2025 Ryder Cup, the 45th playing of the biennial bash between the U.S. and Europe, will be held at Bethpage Black in New York.

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LeBron James tried his best to stay calm after learning Joel Embiid committed to Team USA

The way LeBron James smiled makes you think he had something to do with this.

Joel Embiid sent shockwaves through the international basketball world Thursday when he revealed he’d play for Team USA — not his native Cameroon or France — at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The reigning NBA MVP and Philadelphia 76ers talisman will join an absolutely stacked roster that features other notable names like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, and, of course, LeBron James.

After Lakers practice Thursday, James was asked for his opinion on the Embiid news. At first, his reaction seemed muted. But then it became abundantly clear James was ecstatic that the superstar big man was joining forces with some of the biggest stars in American basketball. (Note: James may have also played an active recruiting part in getting Embiid aboard.)

Sometimes, you just can’t hide a smile:

If James wanted to show more public jubilation, no one would have blamed him. It was already going to be a tall order beating a Team USA roster that featured some of the greatest players in basketball history. Adding a top-flight big man like Embiid, who can score at will, is a delightful cherry on top.

NBA Twitter reacts to Joel Embiid committing to Team USA: ‘They winning every game by 100’

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Joel Embiid joining Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Joel Embiid has decided to represent Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, per Shams Charania.

Embiid said no to France and Cameroon and is expected to be in Paris for next year’s Olympics wearing the colors of the United States.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Embiid’s decision to represent Team USA.

Joel Embiid intends to play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics

Welp. Joel Embiid just fixed Team USA’s huge problem at center

Team USA desperately needed a win after quite a few deflating losses in the FIBA World Cup over the summer.

It just got a big one.

Joel Embiid is reportedly set to announce his intention to play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics next year.

The big man’s decision loomed large over next year’s games in Paris. The 76ers big man had a total of four choices he could’ve made here. Embiid has citizenship in three countries — his home nation of Cameroon, France and the United States.

He also had the option of just sitting the Olympics out altogether. No matter what choice he made, it would’ve had a massive impact on international basketball.

Ultimately, the 76ers big man chose to run with Team USA here, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

This is a massive decision, folks. Embiid is now a member of Team USA for the rest of his life. Once you choose to play for a nation, you can’t switch. So for the foreseeable future — or, at least the rest of his career — this is the team Embiid will play for internationally.

That’s a huge deal for Team USA considering how the team struggled at the center position in the World Cup with Jaren Jackson getting most of the minutes there.

Now, Embiid takes care of that problem pretty easily. Everything else just sort of falls into place.

This completely caught the basketball world by surprise. It totally changes everything internationally.

Joel Embiid intends to play in the Olympics and may make his national decision within a few days

Joel Embiid would change everything for Team USA.

Joel Embiid, the NBA’s MVP, is the biggest wild card for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He has four options about his plans for next summer.

Embiid has citizenship in three different countries. First, he can play for Cameroon, where he was born. Cameroon is slated as one of the 24 national teams that will compete for one of the final four spots in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July 2024.

Second, the big man can also play for France, which earned an Olympic berth as the host nation in the tournament. Third: He can suit up for the United States, which earned their qualifications during the FIBA World Cup.

Embiid can also skip out on the Olympics altogether, but that seems unlikely. Here is what he said during Philadelphia’s media day about his looming decision (via Olympics.com):

“My goal is to play in the Olympics,” Embiid said. “I love all three options. Cameroon — I [was] born there. I’m from there, and I always want to represent my country. … If we had a chance or if we were qualified for the Olympics, that would be an easy decision, but that’s still up in the air. … And then the USA, obviously they’ve been struggling the last couple of years, trying to get back on the top. And you’ve also got France, who’s up and coming.”

Fans won’t have to wait long for Embiid to make his choice, though.

According to the big man, he will make his decision sooner rather than later:

“I’m just thankful that I’m able to be in that situation. It is a tough choice, but I’m probably going to make that decision in the next few days.”

Even if Embiid does not decide to play for Team USA, there are several other NBA stars who have pledged to take the trip to Paris.

Some of those players include LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum.

Embiid and Anthony Davis are likely the top priorities at center for Team USA. But if Embiid decides not to play, it isn’t the end of the world. Other options include Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, Evan Mobley and Kevon Looney.

Team USA had a disappointing finish during the FIBA World Cup, though, and would assuredly get a tremendous boost if Embiid decides to play for them in Paris.

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Steph Curry says he wants to play for Team USA in 2024 Olympics in Paris

The Warriors star point guard indicated he wanted to be playing for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

After Team USA’s early exit from the recent FIBA World Cup, there’s been speculation about which players would commit to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.

Players including LeBron James, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant have indicated interest in playing for Team USA in 2024. You can add Steph Curry to that list.

During the Golden State Warriors’ media day on Monday, the point guard was asked about playing for Team USA in the Olympics.

I talked to some people about the opportunity, and definitely, if all things stay the same, I want to be playing. It’s the one thing I haven’t done. I also understand the opportunity for Team USA to kind of reassert themselves as the most dominant in the world and all that type of stuff. I definitely want to be there — definitely want to be on the team. Hopefully, things line up that way where we’re all there.

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:

https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1708940318715068633?s=20

Curry has never appeared in the Olympics for Team USA. However, he has suited up in red, white and blue for the FIBA World Cup in the past.

The Olympics in Paris are slated to start in late July of 2024.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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A close match, new Captain America and more way too early predictions for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black

Is the Ryder Cup due for a close contest? Which new stars will shine? Will fans become a storyline?

Is it 2025 yet?

For golf fans across the globe the countdown to the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, has already started despite the fact the 44th playing of the biennial bash between the United States and Europe is just one day in the rearview mirror.

For American fans, they want to wash away the embarrassing performance at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy last week. As for the European supporters, they want to ride the momentum of another win at home and avenge the historic loss at Whistling Straits in 2021.

A lot can happen over two years, especially in golf, but don’t let that get in the way of a fun thought exercise. Here are some way, way too early predictions for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

MORE: Changes afoot for USA | How players fared in ’23 | Future sites

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