Tag: USA Basketball

Kevin Durant thrilled fans by responding to Olympics tweets absurdly early in the morning from Paris

KD deserves a gold medal for social media.

After one of the most exciting games in United States men’s basketball history, Kevin Durant was awake early in the morning.

The late Kobe Bryant, who was Durant’s teammate the 2012 London Olympics, used to discuss the importance of waking up early for early morning workouts. Durant obviously has his workout routine down to a science, but he also needed to be up early for other reasons.

Durant, who could potentially win MVP of the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics and recently broke Lisa Leslie’s all-time scoring record for Team USA at the Olympics, had an agenda.

He has stayed active on Twitter during his time as an Olympian in Paris, sharing a particularly classy message after he became the points leader. But nothing came close to his social media behavior on Friday morning while in France.

Despite riding high following the victory over Serbia, the two-time NBA Finals MVP couldn’t help but respond to some folks on Twitter who were discussing the thrilling semifinals match.

RELATED: I hope Kevin Durant never logs off. His posting truly inspires me.

No one who follows Durant on Twitter was surprised to see that he responded to basketball fans. He obviously loves to do that, even if the posts come from one of his “burner” accounts occasionally.

Durant used his own account for these replies, questioning all of the NBA fans from the United States who rooted for Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic on Serbia.

It was fairly standard stuff from Durant, but the fact he was posting these quote tweets around 5:00 a.m. from Paris was particularly amazing.

Everyone thought this was hilarious

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Reminder that in high school, Team USA’s Olympic star Bam Adebayo was unstoppable

Bam Adebayo was good, even in high school.

Despite coming off the bench on Thursday, United States basketball’s Bam Adebayo was the leading scorer for the Americans in a 103-86 win in the Olympics.

And for those who have followed Adebayo’s career for a while, his dominant performance for the United States in the Olympics is to be expected.

As a class of 2016 recruit from High Point Christian (High Point, North Carolina), the now Miami Heat star was a five-star recruit and the seventh-best prospect in the nation according to Rivals. He picked Kentucky over offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest among others.

He showed unreal explosiveness and the ability to play above the rim. Not unlike his showing on Thursday for Team USA in the Olympics.

Check out some of these highlights of Adebayo:

 

 

Against South Sudan, Adebayo also added seven rebounds. He was 8-of-10 from the floor including making two of his three attempts from behind the arc.

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Joel Embiid seemed to be in good spirits on the bench despite his Olympic DNP against South Sudan

Embiid looked unbothered by the decreased role.

When Joel Embiid opted to play for USA Basketball over France and Cameroon, it was seen as a potentially game-changing boost for the U.S. men’s basketball team. This was a squad that was already heavily favored to win gold and adding another MVP to the loaded roster couldn’t hurt.

Embiid, though, has struggled adapting to the FIBA game, and on Wednesday, he did not appear in the USABMNT’s win over South Sudan. But despite the DNP, Embiid didn’t seem bothered by the decreased role.

As the U.S. pulled ahead between South Sudan’s runs, the NBC broadcast noted that Embiid looked to be in great spirits on the bench. He was rooting on teammates, celebrating big plays and smiling throughout the game.

This made it look like that Embiid was probably aware of the Steve Kerr’s plan ahead of time. Embiid started the Olympic opener against Serbia, but only scored four points in 11 minutes. Jayson Tatum — who had a DNP, coach’s decision, in the first game — started on Wednesday and played 17 minutes.

Embiid will start in Friday’s game against Puerto Rico.

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Jayson Tatum does not play against Serbia in Team USA’s opening Olympic victory

Team USA Basketball started the 2024 Olympics with a 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia, but Jayson Tatum didn’t see the court.

The United States opened the 2024 Olympic men’s basketball competition with a 110-84 victory over Serbia on Sunday, but former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] never saw the court.

The Americans took down three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, outscoring him and his countrymen 52-35 over the final two quarters en route to victory. NBA legends LeBron James and Kevin Durant combined for 44 points, making 17 of their 22 shots from the floor.

10 different players took the floor for Team USA, but Tatum never left the bench. No explanation was given about his availability before the game.

The decision, while it ultimately didn’t affect the U.S. team, seems inexplicable on paper. Tatum made the starting five for an exhibition game against Serbia earlier this month, and he’s fresh off his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics this season. He even helped the United States win gold at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo three years ago.

Despite Tatum leading Boston in points, rebounds, and assists during their playoff run this summer, two of his teammates played ahead of him on Sunday. Jrue Holiday made the starting lineup, and Derrick White (a late replacement for Kawhi Leonard) came off the bench for two points and two steals.

Social media reacts to USA dominating Serbia in Olympics opener: ‘Kevin Durant the best FIBA player ever’

Team USA started off slow in the Olympic Games opener against Serbia, but quickly turned things around to secure a dominant 110-84 victory. Kevin Durant led the way with 23 points, including 21 in the first half without missing a single shot, while …

Team USA started off slow in the Olympic Games opener against Serbia, but quickly turned things around to secure a dominant 110-84 victory. Kevin Durant led the way with 23 points, including 21 in the first half without missing a single shot, while LeBron James contributed 21 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists in 27 minutes. Nikola Jokic had 20 points and eight assists.

Check out some of the immediate reactions after the game.

Our brilliant staff picks basketball countries to root for in the Paris Olympics that are not Team USA

Wemby winning a gold medal in France would be pretty cool, right?

When the Olympics begin, it’s easy to root for Team USA. But let’s dare to be different. It’s fun to be a contrarian sometimes, right?

USA Basketball enters the tournament in Paris as the favorite to win the gold medal on both the men’s side and the women’s side. That doesn’t leave us with a lot of room for imagination, though. Go ahead and support the Red, White and Blue if you would like. But know there are other options!

Even though many of the players you will recognize from the NBA and WNBA will represent the United States, there are still some exciting players hailing from other nations as well.

Let’s give you a rooting guide if you’re having trouble deciding.

Men’s basketball

(Photo by MAXIME GRUSS/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia: The world would be better if Australia won the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Think of the content. THINK OF THE CONTENT. — Cory Woodroof

Brazil: It was 2014 when ESPN famously said that former first-round draft pick Bruno Caboclo was two years away from being two years away. Folks, do you know what that means? Based on my calculations, that suggests that Caboclo — who won a championship in German in 2023 and multiple MVP awards in 2022 — has finally arrived. I can’t wait to watch him in the pick-and-roll with former Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas. Força Brasil. — Bryan Kalbrosky

Canada: Our neighbors to the north have SUCH A FUN TEAM! You’ve got SGA, Lu Dort, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Jamal Murray. This is, theoretically, a team that can make a medal run and make some noise. I’m here for it. O Canada! — Charles Curtis

France: If I have to pick a country, I guess I’d root for France. The host country winning would give Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly some good national pride, which hopefully translates to them playing well for my Wizards. — Prince Grimes

France: I’m still upset Joel Embiid decided to play for the U.S. instead of France, but I guess packing the paint with Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly and Rudy Gobert will do. FIBA rules should give this large French team quite a boost, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the whole tournament. Lengthy athletes who can shoot well will cover up a lot of deficiencies. — Blake Schuster

Greece: Since I’ll be rooting for France a ton during the NBA’s regular season, I guess I’ll stomp a bit for Greece here. The people are sleeping on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who should still be considered 1B as the best player in the world to Nikola Jokic. I’m excited to watch him ball this summer (plus I’d love to go to Greece someday soon). — Mike D. Sykes

Puerto Rico: You might be surprised to learn that, within the past five years, Georgia Tech won something of significance in men’s basketball. It was in 2021 and a team led by ACC Defensive Player of the Year José Alvarado tore through the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. It was fun and ridiculous and awesome — and I imagine the feeling would be similar if an Alvarado-powered Puerto Rico team won the gold. Go ACC. — Mitchell Northam 

Serbia: I want to make clear that I’m rooting for Team Serbia first. Why would I root for Team USA, the Celtics or Lakers of international basketball? They’re so dominant that it’s always more interesting to see someone else win. That aside, Serbia has the best player in the world right now, Nikola Jokic, surrounded by a battle-tested group with plenty of chemistry that won silver at the last FIBA World Cup… without Jokic. Serbia plays together and it plays hard. I’m all in, baby. — Robert Zeglinski

South Sudan: In 1992, a country that had recently won its independence rallied all the way to an Olympic silver on the hard wood (please do not check the final score). South Sudan isn’t in nearly the same situation as Croatia, but its struggle for recognition in a country without an indoor court made it one of the most inspiring competitors at this year’s games. How could you not support that? — Christian D’Andrea

Spain: ALL ABOARD THE SPAIN TRAIN! This strategy worked for me in Euro 2024, so I’m carrying it over to the Olympics. Sure, it’s a different sport and competition, but I still like Spain’s chances to compete for a medal. They have a good mix of NBA talent with one of the strongest domestic leagues outside the NBA. — Andrew Joseph

Women’s basketball

(Photo by ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia: Have you seen the roster? IT’S LOADED. Former Seattle Storm great Lauren Jackson leads a roster full of sleepers that will block your shot into oblivion and then rain buckets of fury down upon you. Ezi Magbeor. DAWG. Alanna Smith. DAWG. Isobel Borlase. DAWG. Are we serious? Don’t say I didn’t warn you about their potential. — Meghan Hall

Belgium: If you’re new to the WNBA this season, let me introduce you to Julie Vanloo: She’s the 31-year old ROOKIE point guard for the Washington Mystics who, at the Olympic break, is top 10 in the league in assists and 3-pointers made per game. Last year, she and former WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the gold in the EuroBasket. Vanloo and Meesseman are among the most fun duos to watch at the Olympics. — Mitchell Northam 

Canada: Go, Aaliyah Edwards! — Prince Grimes

France: Prince stole my pick. Aaliyah Edwards is my rookie, so of course I’m rooting for her and Canada. But France is super fun, too. I’ve missed watching Marine Johannes in the W this season. Seeing her ball out for her home country is going to be awesome.— Mike D. Sykes

Germany: Likewise, no disrespect to the American women, but they are such a juggernaut that it would be more intriguing to see anyone else pull off the upset. On this side, I’ll go with the Germans. Leonie Fiebich and the Sabally sisters (Nyara and Satou) give the Germans an underrated core trying to make its first real run at an international tournament in well, ever. — Robert Zeglinski 

Japan: The Japan women’s national team got close to the gold in 2021, and it’d be awesome to see it actually make it all the way this year. — Cory Woodroof

Serbia: While I love that Yao Ming is an assistant coach for China this year, Angela Dugalić has played college basketball for my two favorite schools: Oregon and UCLA. She missed all of the 2022-23 NCAA season after tearing her ACL while representing Serbia during the 2022 FIBA World Cup. I’m looking forward to seeing her redemption this summer. — Bryan Kalbrosky

Spain: The SPAIN TRAIN keeps on going. While Spain lacks WNBA talent, it has consistently competed for a medal since 2010. Nobody is beating the U.S. — let’s be real. But Spain could absolutely contend for silver. — Andrew Joseph

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Coco Gauff posted an amazing selfie of Team USA basketball and tennis hanging out at Paris Olympics opening ceremony

This is a memory for Coco Gauff that will last a lifetime.

U.S. women’s tennis star Coco Gauff shared a memory that will last forever before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Gauff, who was chosen alongside men’s basketball star LeBron James as one of the flag bearers for Team USA, took a once-in-a-lifetime selfie with all of the basketball athletes and tennis athletes before the opening ceremony.

There is an absolutely wild amount of star power and talent represented from both the parquet and clay courts in this one photograph. Many may come home to the United States with new gold medals to showcase for all of their hard work:

Later in the day, Gauff met up with USA women’s basketball star and WNBA MVP frontrunner A’Ja Wilson.

The two elite athletes shared a beautiful exchange before the ceremony:

 

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Notre Dame’s Cassandre Prosper teaches French ahead of Olympics

Time to get educated.

Notre Dame guard [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] missed most of this past season, but the next two weeks should help make up for that. She’s off to Paris to represent Canada for the 2024 Olympics. She’s incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity at this stage of her career.

To help get Irish fans in the Parisian spirit for the Olympics, Prosper, who hails from Montreal, shared a few French words and phrases on social media:

Those of you who took French in school might have known some of these already, but for everyone else, it’s a nice little educational moment.

This tweet was made the same Prosper scored six points in Canada’s pre-Olympic 77-74 victory over Australia in Spain. Former Irish standout [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag] contributed 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

Elsewhere, the U.S. bounced back from [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag]’s All-Star MVP performance by topping Germany, 84-57, in its last game before the Olympics in London. [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] had eight points.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Social media reacts to USA squeaking by South Sudan: ‘Americans coming back to Twitter after a struggle win’

Team USA rallied back from a 16-point deficit to escape against South Sudan in a 101-100 nail-biter. LeBron James led the comeback in the second half. Obviously, whenever USA basketball loses or is in close games against opponents, the Internet goes …

Team USA rallied back from a 16-point deficit to escape against South Sudan in a 101-100 nail-biter. LeBron James led the comeback in the second half.

Obviously, whenever USA basketball loses or is in close games against opponents, the Internet goes crazy. Check out some of the immediate reactions after the game.

Arike Ogunbowale sets WNBA All-Star scoring record, wins second MVP

Irish fans know she’s not afraid of the spotlight.

Notre Dame legend [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] didn’t think she had a shot at making Team USA for the 2024 Olympics. She saved herself the frustration by withdrawing from the pool of potential players early. But when she represented Team WNBA against the same U.S. Olympic team in the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, she proved she should be going to Paris.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Ogunbowale set a WNBA All-Star record with 34 points, all in the second half, to lead Team WNBA to a 117-109 victory. She scored 24 of those points on eight 3-pointers.

Ogunbowale’s reward was her second WNBA All-Star MVP Award, her first coming in 2021 when the league All-Stars last faced an Olympic team. She’s the fourth player to win the award more than once. It marked the third time in four years a former Notre Dame player won All-Star MVP.

[autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], the 2023 All-Star MVP, failed to score on three field-goal attempts. Her U.S. teammate, [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag], made a single field goal on five attempts. [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag], the fourth former Irish player in the game, made her only shot attempt for Team WNBA, which came from 3-point range.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89