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USA Men Get The Gold

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SAITAMA JAPAN – (SOURCE: Official Team News Release) – Three players in the NBA Finals. Two more who had to leave the team during training camp. Two exhibition defeats. One Olympic loss. Countless doubters. Four weeks after the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team partially came together for the first time as a team, all that adversity did was make what transpired Saturday at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 all the more special.

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With Kevin Durant scoring 29 points, including two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to seal the win, the U.S. (5-1) won its fourth consecutive gold medal, fending off France (5-1) 87-82 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Americans now have 16 golds from the 19 Olympics in which they have participated.

Durant has played a major role in each of the last three golds, and he’s now tied with Carmelo Anthony for the most gold medals in Olympic men’s basketball history. The Brooklyn Nets’ superstar scored 30 points in each of the prior two gold medal games.

“I hate to compare stuff because you know everything is its own moment,” Durant said, “but this is one of those special journeys that it’s just hard to describe, because each and every one of us put in that work every single day, from the coaches, to the trainers, to the players. We all came in with that goal of, ‘Let’s finish this thing off. Let’s build a family. Let’s build this team. Let’s grow this team every day.’ And when you are part of a team that’s evolving by the second, it’s just amazing to see.”

For U.S. coach Gregg Popovich, one of only five coaches with five NBA championships, the Olympic gold medal fills one of the few voids on his long resume. As a player for the U.S. Air Force Academy, he did not make the 1972 U.S. Olympic team that controversially lost to the Soviet Union in the gold-medal game.

“You know what sayonara means? That’s how I’m feeling right now,” Popovich joked before turning serious. “I agree with these guys. Every championship is special, and the group you’re with is special. But I can be honest and say this is the most responsibility I’ve ever felt, because you’re playing for so many people that are watching and for your country and other countries involved. The responsibility was awesome, and I felt it every day for several years now. I’m feeling pretty light now and looking forward to getting back to the hotel and having something.”

Popovich likely will celebrate back at the team hotel with Jerry Colangelo, whose run as managing director of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team program ended with Saturday’s victory. He took the position in 2005 after the Americans lost three times and earned bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Colangelo was the architect behind these four consecutive Olympic golds and two FIBA World Cup titles.

Milwaukee Bucks teammates Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, who joined the Olympic team in the early-morning hours before the U.S. played France in pool play on July 25, became the fourth and fifth players to win the NBA Finals and an Olympic gold in the same year (joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Kyrie Irving). Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns also played in the NBA Finals shortly before flying to Tokyo.

“Getting in at one in the morning, me, Book and Khris, and then playing that night against France, losing that game and then being able to go through the rest of the tournament and then winning the gold medal game,” Holiday said of his whirlwind summer, “I don’t know — I guess me thinking about it, and me telling that story, man, that’s a hell of a summer.”

Jayson Tatum had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Holiday added 11 points and five rebounds and Damian Lillard had 11 points for the U.S. Rudy Gobert had 16 points and eight rebounds and Evan Fournier also had 16 points for France, which won its third silver medal in 10 Olympic appearances. The French also won silver in 1948 and 2000.

The 32-year-old Durant became the career U.S. Olympic scoring leader and the first American to score at least 100 points in three separate Olympic Games.

“Kevin Durant is exactly who we thought he was — one of the greatest players who ever played this game,” U.S. forward Draymond Green said of his former Golden State Warriors teammate. “One of the most special guys you’ve ever seen lace their shoes up and take a basketball court.”

Added an emotional Colangelo: “He’s a very special guy. He loves the game, he loves USA Basketball, and he’s just got that kind of character.”

As if the gold medal wasn’t enough motivation, the Americans also wanted to show their loss in the pool-play opener to France was due more to coming together swiftly after a delayed NBA season than a true representation of their talent. In that 83-76 loss on July 25, the U.S. lost a late seven-point lead and watched France close the game on a 16-2 run to snap the Americans’ 25-game Olympic winning streak.

“I remember we had a team meeting after the first game against France, Pop wasn’t there,” Durant said of the game in which he scored only 10 points and was in foul trouble. “You know when you have a team meeting, you’re kind of at the bottom. So, we just worked our way up from there. Everybody just committed to doing what’s best for the group, no matter what. It was just amazing to see that clock run down to zero and us celebrate like that and then celebrate in the locker room. It was just incredible, man.”

Durant’s leadership is what sets him apart, Popovich said.

“KD is not special because he’s so talented,” he said. “The way he works on his game is more impressive, the relationships he builds with teammates, the respect he garners, the joy he has in playing. It’s like osmosis, it goes into all the other players and allows you to develop a camaraderie and an enjoyment to be together. That sort of love of the game and love of people is what makes him more special than as a player.”

There were the usual ups and downs in the gold medal game. The U.S. had another slow start, but quickly righted itself with a 16-6 run to close the first quarter up 22-18. Unlike the last two contests, the Americans did not fall into a double-digit hole, instead going up by as many as 13 points before settling for a 44-39 halftime advantage. The U.S. led 71-57 in the third quarter, before France’s Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer followed by another at the buzzer by teammate Thomas Heurtel that trimmed the margin to 71-63.

It set up a fourth quarter that was eerily reminiscent of the previous matchup. This time, however, the U.S. was a more cohesive unit and didn’t go cold down the stretch, even when France pulled within 85-82 on two Nando de Colo free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining.

Durant made his two free throws with 8.8 seconds left, and then Batum air balled a 3-pointer that set off a gold medal celebration.

JaVale McGee, named to the U.S. roster when Bradley Beal and Kevin Love had to withdraw, joins a unique group. His mother, Pamela McGee, won gold with the U.S. women’s basketball team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. They became the first American mother-son duo to win gold in any sport and the second in Olympic history. The other was Valentina Rastvorova (team foil fencing, 1960) and son Yevgeny Grishin (men’s water polo, 1980).

Delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic and facing adversity throughout this journey, the Americans relish this gold medal as much as any NBA championship.

“It’s great,” Green said. “It’s a challenge to do special things. I know it seems as if it’s come easy for so long. I played in 2016, it wasn’t easy then. It wasn’t easy this year, but nothing special, nothing is worth having that you don’t have to fight for. If it’s worth having, you got to fight for it. We fought. They fought. I think the better team came out the gold medalist.”

USA Women’s Hoops: One Game Away

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SAITAMA, JAPAN – (Source: Official USA Basketball News Release) – Just one more victory, and the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team will secure its place in history, and a couple individuals will put a final stamp on their international legacies.

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Behind double-doubles from Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart, the U.S. (5-0) displayed dominant defense in stopping Serbia (3-2) 79-59 in Friday’s Olympic semifinal game at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Up next is going for a seventh straight gold medal, a feat accomplished by just one other team in Olympic history in any sport. The U.S. will take on either France (2-2) or host Japan (3-1) in the gold medal game, which is Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (EDT) (11:30 a.m. on Sunday morning in Japan). The U.S. edged both teams in pool play.

Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird also could claim their own spot in the record books. The American backcourt duo could win a fifth gold medal, which would give them the most golds of any basketball player in Olympic history. They currently share the mark of four golds with Teresa Edwards , who played for the U.S. in five Olympics from 1984-2000 and also won a bronze.

The U.S. women would match the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team’s streak of seven golds in a row, accomplished by winning the first seven golds (1936-1968) after the sport’s Olympic debut.

Friday’s win over Serbia was not one that will hang in the Louvre. The Americans shot 48.4% and committed 17 turnovers to just 12 for Serbia. But the U.S. defense picked up the slack, holding Serbia — which won bronze in 2016 at Rio in the country’s Olympic debut — to 30.2% shooting.

Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Stewart 12 points and 10 boards, and Chelsea Gray added 14 points for the U.S.

“It wasn’t our best overall performance,” USA coach Dawn Staley said. “I thought we did a tremendous job defensively, just making it really hard for the Serbian team to get off clean looks. Offensively, I just thought we put enough points on the scoreboard to win. It wasn’t as clean and fluid as we would like, but at this stage of the game, you’re going to have to win a lot of different ways, and we found a way to win.”

Playing in a tough group might have been the best way for the U.S. to prepare for the knockout round. The U.S., France and Japan, three of the four semifinalists, all played in the same group, with Japan beating France in pool play.

“I think since we entered the knockout rounds, we’ve come to each game with a little more focus, so you’re seeing the results,” said Bird, who had eight points and four assists.

USA Fights Way to Olympic Semifinals

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TOKYO – (Source: USA Basketball Official News) – It was a battle of basketball titans, playing on the biggest of international stages, and during the first half of Tuesday’s semifinal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team (3-1) and Spain (2-2) danced with each other, felt each other out and landed significant blows each way.

Like a lengthy prize fight, it was the top-ranked Americans who quickly landed the haymaker in the third quarter. There was no standing eight count, but the second-ranked Spaniards were staggered. By hitting five 3-pointers and not allowing Spain to make a field goal for almost six minutes to begin the second half, the U.S. advanced to the Olympic semifinals with a 95-81 victory on Tuesday at Saitama Super Arena.

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The U.S., three-time defending gold medalist and winner of 15 golds in 18 trips to the Olympics leading up to Tokyo, will face either Australia or Argentina in Thursday’s semifinals. The U.S. is 8-0 against Australia and 7-1 vs. Argentina in Olympic play.

Kevin Durant scored 13 of his 29 points in the third quarter, hitting two early 3-pointers to open the second half, and he lead five Americans in double figures. Jayson Tatum had 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter to help put Spain away, while Jrue Holiday added 12 points, Damian Lillard 11 and Zach LaVine 10 points. The Americans improved to 13-0 versus Spain in Olympic action.

“The game is about buckets,” Durant said. “When you see the ball go in the rim, everybody’s got more energy — coaches, players, trainers, everybody. We started making shots, made some 3s, and guys calmed down and made some stops.”

Ricky Rubio dazzled for Spain, scoring 38 points for the 2019 FIBA World Cup champions and the team the U.S. has beaten in two of the past three Olympic gold-medal games. Sergio Rodriguez added 16 points, and Willy Hernangomez 10 points and 10 rebounds for Spain.

“I didn’t expect anything less,” said Holiday, a premier defender often tasked with trying to slow Rubio down. “Ever since he (Ricky) was, what, like 12, he’s been doing this. So for him to come out here and just display the type of talent that he has is really cool to be a part of and to see.”

For part of the second quarter, it looked like Rubio and Spain — which featured two five-time Olympians — might have the right formula to take down the Americans, who have repeatedly started slow in these Olympics.

Seven straight U.S. misses sparked a 10-0 Spain run that made it 39-29 with 3:25 left in the half. But Durant, a two-time gold medalist who passed Carmelo Anthony to become the top American scorer in men’s Olympic history on Sunday, triggered a 14-4 run to close the half and tie the game 43-43. The U.S. was just 4-for-17 from 3-point range in the first half.

“They played with extreme energy to start the game, and we were a little sluggish,” Durant said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, and that kind of affected our defense a bit. But we got into it at the end of the second quarter and were able to get stops, get some scores and battle and try to get some momentum. In that third quarter, we knew exactly what we needed to do.”

And that was landing a decisive blow.

Durant hit a pair of quick 3-pointers and the Americans connected on five of their first six shots from deep in the third period. Meanwhile, the U.S. defense kept Spain from a field goal for the opening 5:44 of the half. The result was a 22-6 run that turned a tied game into a 65-49 U.S. advantage. Combined with the closing run of the first half, it was a 36-10 burst to take control.

Following a rare Olympic loss to France (3-0) to begin the tournament, the U.S. has steadily looked better and better in its last three games. The team might be finding the right elements needed to create chemistry at just the right time for a sqaud that expects nothing less than gold.

“I think the potential of this team is endless,” said U.S. forward Draymond Green, who had four points and two assists. “Unfortunately, we (only) got two games left. So, we need to make sure that we’re continuing to get better each and every time we step on the floor, and I think that’s why we’ve done it.”

Celtics Acquire Josh Richardson

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Team News Release) – The Boston Celtics acquired guard Josh Richardson from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for center Moses Brown in a post NBA Draft transaction, among the first of the 2021-22 NBA season.

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Richardson played inconsistently when give opportunity by Miami Heat (Getty Images)

A six-year NBA veteran, Richardson, 27, has posted career averages of 12.3 points (42.7% FG, 35.8% 3-PT, 83.2% FT), 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocked shots, and 30.6 minutes in 373 career games (299 starts) with Miami, Philadelphia, and Dallas. He has averaged at least 10.0 points in each of his last five seasons from 2015-16 to 2020-21, including a career-high 16.6 points per game with Miami in 2018-19.

Richardson produced 12.1 points (42.7% FG, 33.0% 3-PT, 91.7% FT), 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 30.3 minutes in 59 games (56 starts) with the Mavericks last season, marking the fourth time over the last five seasons he has recorded at least 10.0 points and 1.0 steals. The Oklahoma native was one of four NBA players to average 10.0 points and 1.0 steals while shooting at least 91.0% from the free throw line in 2020-21 (Paul/Curry/Irving).

Acquired from Oklahoma City as part of a three-player deal earlier this offseason on June 18, Brown has averaged 7.3 points (54.0% FG), and 7.6 rebounds in 52 career games over two seasons with Portland and Oklahoma City.

“The Rest of the World” Caught Up

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – On September 30th in the Year 2000, immediately after the United States men’s Olympic basketball team narrowly defeated Lithuania, 85-83, in the Sydney Summer Games, Randy Harvey of the Los Angeles Times wrote that “the rest of the world had caught up with USA Basketball.” He was not alone in that point of view. Today, on July 25th in the Year 2021, in the few hours since France upset the USA Basketball Olympic team, 83-76, in the opening game of Pool play of the 2020ne Tokyo Olympic Games, the Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, New York Post, NBC Sports, Deadspin, and countless other media outlets throughout America all wrote that “the rest of the world had caught up” with USA Basketball’s best, as if it were something new?

That’s a 20 year news cycle of “catching up.”

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“When you lose a game, you’re not surprised,” 2020 USA Basketball head coach Gregg Popovich told the assembled reporters covering basketball in Saitama Japan today. “You’re disappointed. I don’t understand the word ‘surprised.’ That sort of disses the French team, as if we’re supposed to beat them by 30. That’s a hell of a team.”

The wise guys in Vegas had it more like 12 points, not 30, and they were certainly influenced by USA exhibition game losses to Nigeria and Australia earlier this month when they set the point-spread. But, an upset is an upset and the disappointment is no longer a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to world basketball.

When Nigeria defeated the American team in Las Vegas, the headlines screamed “stunning, shocking and historic upset,” and one report went so far as to state, “Nigeria pulled off one of the greatest upsets in international basketball history on Saturday night by stunning Team USA in an Olympic exhibition game in Las Vegas, beating them 90-87. It was Team USA’s first-ever loss to an African nation. They had defeated Nigeria 156-73 in August 2012 at the London Olympics.”

There was some bickering over the margin of victory expected when USA Basketball suits up for an international game, no matter who the opponent. The 83-point margin of victory differential from 2012 didn’t mean a damn thing to the 12 Nigerian players who suited up vs USA on July 11, 2021. Half the Nigerian team had NBA experience and the head coach, Mike Brown, has a ton of NBA experience and three NBA championship rings (as an assistant coach) to prove his mettle.

Facing fact, the “fear factor” that the 1992 USA Dream Team had sitting on its bench was long gone by the time the 1996 Olympic Games were played in Atlanta. In 2000, longtime NBA executive, GM, and assistant coach, Donnie Nelson, was working as an assistant for his beloved Lithuanian team. Nelson noted that in pool play that year, maybe there were two players on the Lithuanian club who thought they “had a chance” against the Americans, but by the semi-final, some 10 players or more believe they could win. The 85-83 score reflected Nelson’s viewpoint.

The mechanism for USA Basketball assembling its teams has long been questioned. There seems to be a cyclical n nature to the Olympic team successes, if you examine the era of the ’92 team to the carry-over of some key players (Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Karl Malone), along with Coach Lenny Wilkens who assisted the ’92 head coach Chuck Daly. In ’94, with Shaquille O’Neal leading the way, the USA cruised to the World Championship in Toronto.

By 1998, NBA labor strife had tossed the national team upside down and, in 2000, the senior team was re-assembled after a successful Olympic qualification tournament in Puerto Rico. Rudy Tomjanovich and Larry Brown split the coaching duties and the Americans managed the gold in Sydney.

By 2002, the cycle had turned again, and the USA senior team failed miserably on its home turf of Indianapolis at the FIBA Worlds. It was downhill from there and the 2004 team was asked more about the players that weren’t on the roster than the players standing in the gym themselves. Coach Larry Brown “lost” the team while still practicing on American soil and the Olympic team staggered to a quarterfinal loss to a better Argentine team, yet the USA regrouped and showed some determination and class in gaining the bronze in Athens.

In 2005, USA Basketball and the NBA took a major step and turned the senior team program over to longtime NBA senior administrator and Phoenix Suns guru Jerry Colangelo, who had served as Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors until he sold the Suns to Robert Sarver for a then-record sum. Colangelo demanded autonomy and, at least, a three-or-four year commitment from the players who would sign-up and “change the culture” of USA Basketball.

The NBA hierarchy and Colangelo also made a very bold decision, and that was to allow the head coaching spot to be relinquished from an NBA coach to the great Mike Kryzyewski of Duke University, a longtime USA Basketball coach who assisted on the ’92 Dream Team but had stepped back as the NBA head coaches took over the senior national team. Colangelo and Coach K teamed-up like long lost brothers from Chicago and guided the program to unparalleled success and continuity.

If you remember, in 2006, they first faced adversity when a young USA team lost to Greece in the medal round of the 2006 FIBA Worlds, coincidentally in Saitama, Japan. But, from the bronze medal win in Japan right on through to the 2016 Olympic Games gold in Rio, the USA Basketball team dominated once again and Coach K went 88-1, including the three Olympic golds and two FIBA World Cup golds.

After Rio, blame it on a long period of time and service, Coach K passed the torch and many of the players in the program bowed out. Coach Popovich took over a new, talented and highly capable roster for the 2019 World Cup of Basketball in Spain but saw 19 players either withdraw, get injured or cut. The 2019 USA World Cup team finished a miserable seventh even though the program Colangelo had re-created had a roster of NBA All-Stars some 35 deep.

USA Basketball was re-loading once again, and suffice to say, the rest of the world hadn’t simply caught-up. They were better than the United States, whether they had NBA players on their roster or not (Greece in 2006).

Now, at the 2020ne Olympic Games, don’t knee-jerk to the 20+ year old cliche that the “rest of the world caught up” to the USA in basketball. And, don’t blame the roster of NBA players representing the USA in Japan, either.

Just face the facts and acknowledge, the United States was beaten by a better basketball team today, a French team that gave the 2000 Olympic team quite a run in the gold medal game 20 years ago. Coach Popovich has been on the losing side of the ledger in five of the last eight games he’s coached the national team, dating back to the 2019 Worlds and he is 17-9 in USA Basketball games he’s coached as an assistant or head honcho.

Bostonians must be aware, too, as Celtics forward Evan Fournier scored 28 points and hit the key three-pointer to ice the seven-point victory for his native France.

While We’re Young (Ideas): Sunday Notes and Memories of Olympics Past

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Memories …

May be beautiful and yet

What’s too painful to remember

We simply to choose to forget.

– by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch for The Way We Were

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Choose to forget?

No Way!

Those of us roaming this Earth with the “Olympic gene” remember every second, In fact we measure time in increments of four years, as in – “We’ll do that after the Sydney Olympics. No. After the Athens Olympics.”

The concept of the “Olympic gene” was introduced by the great Bob Condron, the highly regarded and now retired member of the United States Olympic Committee who was in charge of everything to do with making the Olympic Games run smoothly, mostly from the perspective of the operating machine behind Team USA.

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Condron’s concept was quite simple. You either had the Olympic gene or you didn’t. While he was sure you’d always work hard to help the specific sport you might be attached to, he knew you had the Olympic gene when you jumped at a chance to attend the heats for 10-meter women’s platform diving with a moment’s notice, or ran to track and field to pitch in, or to bring some NBA players to watch the USA boxing team … (you get the point, right)?

The Olympic gene, by the way, is a dominant gene. If both you and your wife have the Olympic gene, your kids have it, one hundred percent of the time. That is the case in this reporter’s household. Summer Games, Winter Games – you name it.

HERE NOW, SOME OLYMPIC MEMORIES: Some of the memories are marvelous, some are just great, some are painful, but none are forgotten.

This writer has vivid memories of watching the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City and Winter Olympics in Grenoble. How could you forget the “Fosbury Flop,” performed by the great high jumper, Dick Fosbury? How could you forget the dominance, elegance and determination of downhill Alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy as he won the downhill, the giant slalom and the slalom within nine days in his native France?

The ‘68 Games were highlighted by George Foreman taking the gold medal in boxing, by Al Oerter taking the gold in the discus throw, by Bob Beamonin the long jump and the previously mentioned Dick Fosbury in the high jump. But it was Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) who protested the racial injustices and stood on the medal stand with hands clinched in single black gloves to call attention to the civil rights movement to all the world as the Star Spangle Banner played to honor the medalists for the men’s 200m. That was 53 years ago and we still haven’t done right by Smith, Carlos or the entire issue of basic civil rights.

When the 1972 Winter Games rolled around, I can remember pleading with my seventh grade science teacher, Mr. Luciano, to put the Sapporo Games on the black & white tv in our home room each morning as the games were televised live – by satellite they told us – by ABC Sports.

Of course, that September of ‘72 would bring the evils of terrorism into living rooms around the world when a group of Palestinian Black September terrorists took 11 Israeli Olympians and coaches hostage in their village dorm rooms. I can still remember the horror and devastation of ABC’s Jim McKayreporting, “We just got the final word … you know, when I was a kid, my father used to say ‘Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.’ … Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They’ve now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.”

FAST FORWARD: As the years flew by, I nearly had to pinch myself as I was assigned (by the NBA) to assist in the league’s summer program to help prepare the 1984 USA Basketball Senior National team as it practiced for the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles.

The date was June 30, 1984 and I took an early morning “puddle jumper” from New York’s Fiorello La Guardia Airport to Providence, Rhode Island and was the lone NBA rep for the very first game of an eight-game series of NBA Stars vs the Olympic Team. It was the first and only time I’ve ever met and interacted with coach Bobby Knight. Here is the story:

As I jumped out of a taxi which transported me from T.F. Green Airport to the (then) Providence Civic Center (now Dunkin Donuts Arena), I entered the building at about 9:00am for the 1:00pm tip on ABC Sports. My first site was observing our country’s executive director for basketball Bill Wall draping a wrinkled ABA/USA banner over the scorer’s table. The federation was tagged ABA/USA as it represented “Amateur Basketball” and not the professionals. It was 1984, two full years before FIBA’s Borislav Stankovicwould begin his quest to have all players in the world eligible for the Olympic Games and Worlds.

At this point in time, the NBA was merely throwing together any players who could and would volunteer to play together for one game in their off-season. The next memory was Cleveland Cavaliers guard John Bagley (of Boston College) soon arriving with no gear and asking, “Hey, man? What size you wear?” Bagley eventually squeezed his large dogs into my size 11.5 Reeboks and joined a cast of NBA players, including Terry Cummings, Darryl Dawkins, John Garris (BC), Joey Hassett (Providence), Rick Mahorn, Reggie Theus, Darrell Walker, Gus Williams and Orlando Woolridge.

That morning, after some scrambling and typing up a roster of our NBA players and their uniform numbers, I was very anxious to go and visit the arriving Olympians and my St. John’s University bud, Chris Mullin, who had earned a place on the team.

I walked down the corridor to the Olympic team locker room as the players were lacing up their basketball shoes and had some quality time with Mullin. A few minutes later, as I was leaving the locker, I bumped into Knight and introduced myself, cordially, “Hi, I’m Terry Lyons and I work at the NBA league office but am here today helping out with our players. If I can do anything for you or “The Team,” please let me know.”

Knight responded with the only words I’ve ever exchanged with him, as he firmly stated, “If we need any help from you, we’re in real trouble.”

I smiled, turned around and walked out of the locker never to speak another word with Knight! (It’s his loss, right)?

‘88: The NBA assisted in similar fashion in 1988 and I was asked to do a number of games that summer. Although I took the gig for granted, and dealing with USA coach John Thompson via Georgetown, became as much a drag as it was with Knight, the friendly games were great and we enjoyed more time to get to know the future NBA players. Kansas center-forward Danny Manning stood out, as did David Robinson and Mitch Richmond, of course. One stand-out took the entire tour with the Olympic team but was a senior in high school. Yes, Thompson had Alonzo Mourning training with the team in preparation for his future career at Georgetown and Mourning held his own, and some. Mourning was the last cut after we played the final prep in Las Vegas. By that point, Thompson had “lost” a few of the players – including some of the best on the team – and I was not surprised when the USA lost to the USSR in Seoul.

GOMELSKI and COMPANY: What was truly amazing to this New York kid with his Olympic Dream-Gene was that by 1988, I knew the members of the Russian team almost as well as I knew my fellow Americans. The relationships built over the four-plus years included “a solid” – complete with late-night vodka toasts – friendship with the Soviet head coach, the late Alexander Gomelsky, and his assistant, Ivan Edeshko, the man better known for throwing the full court pass to Alexander “Sasha” Belov in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. It was the pass after the controversial and illegal re-setting of the game clock by FIBA administrator R. William Jones who came down to the court from his seat in the stands to rule for extra time (three seconds) to be placed on the clock after the United States team had already won the game (twice). It still pisses me off to no end.

DREAM TEAM: This all culminated with NBA players being allowed to participate in the Olympics and Worlds, beginning in 1992. Many believe it was the United States who pushed for that ruling, but the US actually voted against it when the FIBA-led ruling came down in April of 1989. Up to that point, every human being on the face of the earth was eligible to play Olympic basketball, unless you had an NBA contract. In essence, the 425+ best basketball players were the only ones not allowed to represent their countries. (Editor’s note: Be sure to read this: (CLICK HERE).

The stories of the Dream Team are an endless stream of amazing experiences which will be left for another column at another time, as will the reconstruction of the USA men’s program in 2005-2016. The bond formed with my colleagues at USA Basketball are among the most treasured of my quarter century of working at the NBA – both professionally and personally with the great people who run USA Basketball today.

BARCELONA TO TOKYO: Aside from the game’s invention, the ‘92 USA Dream Team experience was the most important and significant occurrence in the history of basketball. If you don’t agree with that statement, just ask Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki, France’s Tony Parker, and the 121 NBA and WNBA players dotting Olympic basketball rosters in Tokyo this week.

The NBA issued a news release this week that stated: “A record 121 NBA and WNBA players are featured on national team rosters for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The men’s and women’s 5×5 competitions will feature a record 49 current NBA players and a record 29 current WNBA players, along with 16 former NBA and 22 former WNBA players. The inaugural 3×3 basketball tournament features four current and one former WNBA player. The USA men’s 3×3 team(s) did not qualify for the tournament in Tokyo.

The previous records for current NBA and WNBA players in the Olympics were 46 and 26, respectively, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Outside of the U.S., Nigeria has the most current NBA players on its roster with eight, followed by Australia with seven and France with six. Eleven of the 12 teams competing in the men’s tournament have at least one current NBA player, and national team rosters include 13 players who have been NBA All-Stars. … Twenty-seven NBA teams are represented in the men’s 5×5 competition, with the Miami Heat featuring a league-high four players. The Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz each have three players competing. … In the women’s 5×5 competition, outside the U.S., Australia has the most current WNBA players with five followed by Canada and Spain with three each. Eight of the 12 teams in the women’s tournament have at least one current WNBA player, and 10 of the 12 WNBA teams are represented on national team rosters. The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm lead with five players each, followed by the Minnesota Lynx with four players. … The inaugural women’s 3×3 basketball tournament is being held from July 24-28 and features five current and former WNBA players.

Nigeria Defeats USA in Friendly, 90-87

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LAS VEGAS – (Source: Official News Release) – The USA Men’s National Team (0-1) stumbled in its first exhibition game as it prepares for the Tokyo Olympic Games, losing 90-87 to Nigeria on Saturday before a crowd of 4,313 spectators at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The difference between the USA and Nigeria on Saturday? While the statistics will bear out a few facts, it might come down to something very simple: The time the players on each team have been together.

Saturday’s result, which was the unofficial beginning of the USA men’s quest to win a fourth-straight gold medal when the Olympics begin in less than two weeks, came after the squad had just four practices. The team has only two players from the 2016 Rio Games. Nigeria, meanwhile, has been practicing for about a month.

“I think with four days of practice, there were a lot of things I liked out there, but in a way, I’m kind of glad it happened,” said USA head coach Gregg Popovich. “That loss means nothing if we don’t learn from it. But it could be the most important thing in this tournament for us, to learn lessons from this and see what we did to move on, because it’s a great group of guys, high character, and we’ll figure it out.”

Conversely, it was a watershed moment for Nigeria, which will be making its third-straight Olympic appearance. Nigeria played the U.S. in its debut at the 2012 London Games and lost 156-73. The loss marks just the second in 33 exhibition games since Jerry Colangelo took over as USA Men’s National Team director in 2005. Colangelo is retiring from his position following the Tokyo Games.

Kevin Durant, already a two-time gold medalist who sported a 39-0 record in international competition with USA Basketball coming into the game, scored 17 points — including clutch 3-pointers down the stretch — to lead five Americans in double figures. Jayson Tatum — part of the starting five with Durant, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard and Bam Adebayo — added 15 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

Gabe Vincent, who plays internationally under his Nigerian surname Nnamdi, led the upstarts with 21 points and four assists. Vincent, who plays for the Miami Heat, was one of seven players on the Nigerian roster Saturday from the NBA and one of 12 in its 49-player camp. Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown coaches the 22nd FIBA-ranked Nigerians.

Missing from Saturday’s game for the U.S. were three players who are still chasing a championship in the NBA Finals — Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks. To fill out the roster for the five exhibition games, seven players were added from the USA Select Team that scrimmaged with and against the Olympians during practice this week.

Popovich pointed to two areas where the Nigerians were superior on this day: rebounding and 3-point shooting.

Nigeria won the battle on the glass with a 46-34 overall advantage, including limiting the U.S. to just seven offensive rebounds. That complemented a stellar shooting effort from 3-point range. Nigeria was 20-of-42 from deep for the game and 11-of-19 in the second half.

“Rebounding was a problem,” Popovich said. “The stats – I almost wanted to give it back to the stat guys and say, ‘Can you do these over? There’s got to be some mistakes. Do your homework over again.’ Because I thought we got murdered on the boards. We got beat on the boards, but I thought we got murdered.”

Larry Brown Honored by NBA Coaches

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PHOENIX – Larry Brown, widely and highly regarded as one of the game’s premier teachers, and the only coach in history to have won both an NBA and NCAA Championship, was named recipient of the 2021 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

“Larry Brown has achieved coaching success at the highest levels of basketball in a career that began in 1965 as an assistant to Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina,” said Indiana Pacers Head Coach and National Basketball Coaches Association President Rick Carlisle. “Not only is he a Hall of Famer and the only coach to have won an NBA and NCAA Championship, he has won multiple Olympic medals and numerous Coach of the Year Awards. Larry’s ‘Coaching Tree’ is ridiculously wide-ranging and includes close to fifty current or former Head Coaches. Congratulations to Larry on this well-deserved and prestigious recognition.”

“I am honored to receive the Chuck Daly Lifetime Award for multiple reasons,” said Brown. “Chuck Daly was a great coach and a great person whose work and legacy are appropriately celebrated with this award. To be mentioned in the same conversation with the previous recipients is truly humbling. I want to thank all of the Coaches with whom I coached and those I coached against, so many of whom are great competitors and friends. And thanks to the players I had the good fortune to coach. I am very proud of what my teams accomplished. Lastly, I want to thank the NBA Coaches Association and the Selection Committee for this honor.”

USA Names Men’s Olympic Hoops Team

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COLORADO SPRINGS – (Source: USA Basketball Official News Release) – USA Basketball formally introduced the US Men’s Olympic basketball team today and it will be led by three-time Olympian Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) and a line-up of the NBA’s most elite stars. Boston’s Jayson Tatum is among the team’s prolific scorers.

Selected for the U.S. Olympic Team, which is seeking a fourth consecutive Olympic title: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Durant, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Tatum (Boston Celtics).

The USA coaching staff is led by head coach Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) with assistant coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright (Villanova University). Jerry Colangelo serves as the USA Men’s National Team managing director.

“I’m happy for the selected players and looking forward to having the opportunity to work with this wonderful group when practice gets underway on July 6 in Las Vegas,” said Popovich. “I’m excited to represent the United States in our quest to earn a gold medal in Tokyo.”

The U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

“This was an unusually challenging selection process for many reasons, including the year postponement of the Olympics and the issues related to the timing of the NBA regular season and playoffs,” said Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA Men’s National Team since 2005.

“Our roster features players who are experienced in the international game, and this team has outstanding athleticism, versatility and balance. We also believe we have excellent leadership which is a necessity in order to develop the needed chemistry. We still have a lot of challenges in front of us, but I believe these players will become a team that all Americans will be proud of,” he added.

The U.S. roster features the return of Olympic gold medalists Durant, Green and Love. Durant and Green were members of the 2016 U.S. Olympic gold medalist squad and Durant and Love were 2012 Olympic gold medalists. Durant and Love were also part of the 2010 USA team that went 9-0 and captured the FIBA World Cup title, and Middleton and Tatum were members of the 2019 USA World Cup Team.

“USA Basketball selects players to represent our country in international competition with the skills, character, experience, and desire to win,” said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors.. “We build teams that are versatile and resilient in the short, intense competitions we face. We’re fortunate that this group of elite athletes has volunteered to represent us in Tokyo this summer.”

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With his selection to the U.S. Olympic Team, Durant becomes just the fourth United States male basketball player selected to three or more Olympic teams. Carmelo Anthony (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) has represented and medaled for a USA men’s record four Olympics, while LeBron James (2004, 2008, 2012) and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) each have three Olympic medals in as many appearances.

Durant, who also collected MVP honors in leading the USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup, has finished as the U.S. team’s leading scorer the past two Olympics – the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Owning the top two U.S. Olympic scoring marks (156 points in 2012 and 155 points in 2016), Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt and with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 ppg.), ranks second all-time for points scored, trailing only Anthony (336) by 25 points.

Durant in USA all-time career Olympics statistics lists first for points averaged (19.4), tied for fourth for games played (16), fifth for rebounds (86), third for most field goals made (101), third for field goals attempted (191), first for 3-point field goals made (59), second for 3-point field goals attempted (108), fourth for 3-point shooting percentage (.546%), second for free throws made (50), fourth for free throws attempted (59), 11th for assists (49), eighth for blocked shots (9) and ninth for steals (21).

The average age of the 12 U.S. players at the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics (Aug. 8, 2021) will be 28.2, the third oldest U.S. Men’s Olympic Team in history, behind the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad (29.4) and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Team (29.0).

Included among the named U.S. Olympians were 2021 All-NBA second team selection Lillard, and third team pick Beal. Additionally, Green and Holiday collected 2021 NBA All-Defensive first team honors, while Adebayo was a second team selection. Four USA players – Beal, LaVine, Lillard and Tatum — were named as 2021 NBA All-Stars.

After opening training camp on July 6, the USA Men’s National Team will tip off a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (5 p.m. PDT); followed by Australia on July 12 (5 p.m. PDT); Argentina on July 13 (3 p.m. PDT); Australia for a second time on July 16 (3 p.m. PDT); and Spain on July 18 (6 p.m. PDT). All of the exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Celtics Make it Official

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BOSTON – (Source: Official News Release) – The Boston Celtics made it official today and named former NBA veteran Ime Udoka as the franchise’s next head coach, making him the 18th head coach in the organization’s 75-year history. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I would like to welcome Ime, Nia, Kez, and Massai to the Boston Celtics. Among the many outstanding qualities that Ime brings to the table are his character, humility, and competitiveness. He has a relentless work ethic and a vast array of experiences as a player and coach,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. “He’s a leader that is warm and demanding, and we are so excited that he has chosen to join us in pursuit of Banner 18.”

Udoka joins the Celtics franchise after spending the last nine NBA seasons as an assistant coach between San Antonio (2012-13 to 2018-19), Philadelphia (2019-20), and Brooklyn (2020-21). Teams that Udoka has served as an assistant coach on have qualified for the playoffs in all nine seasons, with one of those years resulting in an NBA championship (Spurs, 2014).

In addition to his coaching experience in the NBA, Udoka was also an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich and the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in 2018.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the historic Celtics franchise. Coaching this talented roster and working alongside Brad makes it an ideal situation,” said Udoka. “I’d like to thank (team managing partners) Wyc (Grousbeck), Steve (Pagliuca), and Brad (Stevens) for entrusting me with this opportunity. I look forward to getting started right away.”

Udoka played 12 years of professional basketball, including seven seasons in the NBA from 2003-04 to 2010-11. He averaged 5.2 points on 41.7% shooting (35.6% 3-PT), 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 18.1 minutes in 316 career games with San Antonio, Portland, Sacramento, New York, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Udoka also represented Nigeria in international competition throughout his playing career, earning bronze medals in 2005 and 2011 at the African Championships.

“Ime stands out as a person of integrity, accomplishment, energy, and insight,” said Celtics team co-owner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck. “He has worked with some of the best and is ready to take the next step forward. I look forward to having him as our head coach.”

“Ime’s passion for basketball and coaching is extraordinary,” said Celtics team co-owner and Alternate Governor Steve Pagliuca. “He is respected by players and coaches throughout the league for his empathy, humility, and deep knowledge of the game. We are thrilled that he will be coming to Boston to lead our team.”

A native of Portland, OR, Udoka, 43, began his collegiate career at Utah State University Eastern (1995-97) before transferring to the University of San Francisco (1997-98) and finishing up at Portland State (1999-00).