Tag: U.S. Women’s Basketball Olympic Team

Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson posts photo with Olympic gold medal

Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson, who served as an assistant coach for Team USA, shared a photo of her third Olympic gold medal on Sunday.

For the third time in her career, [autotag]Kara Lawson[/autotag] won a gold medal at the Olympic Games on Sunday.

The United States took down France in the gold medal game by a single point, 67-66. Lawson, an assistant coach on the team, posted a selfie with her gold medal to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) after the medal ceremony.

“Never gets old,” Lawson wrote in her caption. “Mission accomplished.”

Lawson also won a gold medal with Team USA as a player in 2008, and she became the fifth American woman in history to appear on the Olympic team as both a player and a coach. She also coached the U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team at the most recent Olympics in Tokyo, another gold-medal-winning squad.

Three other Duke Blue Devils won gold on the Olympic basketball court this year. [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag] played for Lawson on the women’s team, and [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] became the first Duke men’s basketball alum with multiple gold medals. You can even include Blue Devils legend Grant Hill, the managing director for Team USA on the men’s side.

Lawson returns to Durham for this fall’s Countdown to Craziness on October 4, the debut for her 2024-25 team.

The best photos from former Duke basketball star Chelsea Gray at the 2024 Olympic Games

Check out the best photos from former Duke basketball star Chelsea Gray at the 2024 Olympic Games.

At the 2020 Olympic Games, [autotag]Chelsea Gray[/autotag] became the first Duke women’s basketball alum to make the U.S. national team and the first to win an Olympic gold medal.

In France on Sunday, she became the first former Duke women’s basketball player to win her second Olympic gold medal.

The WNBA star tallied four assists in just 13 minutes during the gold medal match against France, a 67-66 victory that required a nine-point comeback over the final 17 minutes for Team USA.

She dealt 13 assists in the Americans’ first game in France, another bullet point on a resume that already includes three WNBA championships and a WNBA Finals MVP.

For any Duke basketball fans who had a hard time keeping track of the Olympic competition over the last week and a half, or for any Blue Devils who simply want to relive Gray’s big week in Paris, here are the best photos from her gold medal run.

Former Duke basketball star Chelsea Gray wins her second Olympic gold medal

Less than 24 hours after Jayson Tatum won his second Olympic gold medal, Chelsea Gray matched him with a second triumph of her own.

[autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] was the only Duke basketball alum with multiple Olympic gold medals for less than 24 hours.

After the U.S. men’s team defeated France in the Olympic final on Saturday, the U.S. women’s team defeated France in their Olympic title match 67-66 on Sunday to give former Blue Devil Chelsea Gray her second consecutive gold medal.

The win gave Team USA its eighth consecutive gold in the sport and the country’s sixty-first consecutive Olympic victory, but it didn’t come without nerves. The home French crowd empowered its national team, and France led by nine points midway through the third.

The Americans stormed back for the lead, however, and the game came down to the final possession with the United States leading by three. France’s Gabby Williams banked in a jumper at the buzzer, but instant replay showed her foot clearly on the 3-point line, only awarding her team two points.

Despite being a member of the Team USA starting lineup, Gray only took one shot from the floor, but the Point Gawd played her role. She dished out four assists, remaining the team’s main distributor on offense.

Gray becomes the first Duke women’s basketball player with multiple Olympic gold medals. In fact, she’s the first Blue Devil to make the U.S. women’s national team or win an Olympic medal period. After three WNBA championships, her run into the history books rolls on.

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.

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.

Former Duke women’s basketball player Chelsea Gray reportedly makes U.S. Olympic team

Gray, who spent 2010-14 with the Blue Devils and now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, will make the 12-person Olympic squad per a Saturday report.

The United States has chosen its 12-person women’s basketball team for the Olympics, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, and there will be a Blue Devil in Paris.

Chelsea Gray, who now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, was one of 12 names Charania said would make the squad.

Gray spent four seasons with Duke from 2010-14 and started 92 games across his collegiate career. She averaged 8.7 points as a freshman and improved on that number in each of the next two seasons, peaking at 12.6 points per game during her junior campaign. She also set personal bests with 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals in 2012-13.

She only played 17 games as a senior, scoring 10.8 points per game as a senior and dishing 7.2 assists per game.

Gray still holds the program record for total assists in a season, and she’s second in career assists, third in career steals, and 29th in career points.

The former Duke legend now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, where she has won the past two WNBA championships. She also took home a title in 2016 with the Los Angeles Sparks, and she was declared the Finals MVP in 2022.

She hasn’t played since she suffered a foot injury during the third game of last year’s WNBA Finals, but she averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 assists last season, both career-highs.

Gray also won a gold medal with the U.S. women’s team in 2021. There will be at least one former Duke basketball player on both teams after the U.S. announced [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] made the men’s squad.