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“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).

NBA Playoffs: Round-Up

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PHILADELPHIA – Atlanta’s Kevin Huerter scored a playoff career-high 27 points, while charismatic and exciting point guard Trae Young added 21 points and 10 assists to lead the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks upset the host Philadelphia 76ers 103-96 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday.

The Hawks will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

Atlanta’s John Collins had 14 points and 16 rebounds while Danilo Gallinari had 17 points and Clint Capela 13 for the Hawks, who reached the conference finals for the first time since 2015. The Hawks won three games at Philadelphia in this series.

Philly’s all-star center Joel Embiid led the top-seeded Sixers with 31 points and 11 rebounds yet committed eight turnovers. Sixers’ forward Tobias Harris added 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Seth Curry had 16 points and guard Ben Simmons contributed 13 assists.

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The Sixers haven’t reached the conference finals since 2001 and Simmons was met with much criticism for not scoring nor taking shots in the crucial fourth quarter. Simmons attempted only one shot in the fourth quarter in the final six games of the series — a total of 43 minutes played — and passed up a certain game-tying layup with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 7 loss.

In Phoenix, Suns guard Devin Booker posted his first career triple-double Sunday afternoon, when he scored 40 points and collected 13 rebounds and 11 assists as the Phoenix Suns defeated the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, 120-114, in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Booker scored 16 consecutive points for the Suns in the third quarter and 29 in the second half for second-seeded Phoenix, which was without All-Star point guard Chris Paul (health and safety protocols).

Deandre Ayton scored 20 points for Phoenix with nine rebounds while Mikal Bridges (14 points), Jae Crowder (13 points), Cameron Johnson (12 points) and Cameron Payne (11 points, nine assists) also got into double digits.

Reggie Jackson had 24 points and DeMarcus Cousins added 11 points off the bench for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard missed his third straight game with a right knee injury.

Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, during which there were 18 lead changes and eight ties, before George (16 points) and Booker (18 points) put on a show in the third quarter, when they combined to score almost half the combined points generated by both teams.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – June 20

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – A very Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

This column – when featured on Digital Sports Desk – has written about Father’s Day before. Memories of Father’s Days past, from the viewpoint of a son and that of a father, too. It was always bittersweet to write of the memories of my Dad, may he Rest in Peace.

Today, this column resurrects a memory, only two years back. It’s a memory of a simple day, of going out to CitiField and enjoying a Mets game with a buddy on a hot summer afternoon, soon to return to my family – including my two daughters – and a lovely Father’s Day dinner. It was just a wonderful, normal day.

Last year, while we all enjoyed Father’s Day together, it all seemed surreal, as we were still on the front end of the global pandemic, getting mixed messages from our government and no clear sign of relief and an end to the situation. There were clouds hanging over all aspects of normal life, but the sight of two daughters was comforting and was a sign of the future and hope. You could see it. The future would be bright because their future was bright. It was just a matter of time.

Being a “Girl Dad” has been the highlight of my life. Blessed are we who have not just one but two brilliant daughters who strive for high goals, who’ve excelled in their education, jobs and daily living. It’s so much fun to watch them grow and to experience just a few of the experiences they encounter throughout the years. I’m proud to be a “Girl Dad,” and look forward to so many great days ahead.

This column, however, is going to highlight another Dad, a friend of the NBA, Peter Fink. Peter is a “Swim Dad,” who watched his son, Nic, grow up to become a world class swimmer. Peter was always quiet and humble but when asked about Nic and his pursuit of a place on the United States Olympic Swim team, Peter would light up and tell us of the many meets and trials. Having attended four Summer Olympics myself, I knew of the grueling test of the swimmers and divers.

Nic earned a swimming scholarship to Georgia and – over the many years, so many meets, practices, disappointments measured at one-tenth of a second – this week, Nic qualified for the United States Olympic Swim team and he’ll be heading to Tokyo to compete as he earned his place in the 200m breaststroke.

Nic’s Dad is a superstar, too. We met when he was a dedicated worker in the NBA Special Events department. Talk about Tokyo? Nic’s Dad staged dozens of NBA Japan Games, USA Basketball friendlies, USA Basketball World Championships and hundreds of other events – and that’s just in Japan. He did the same in China, Australia, Europe, South America and hundreds of events in the United States and Canada. While Peter Fink was organizing events, Nic Fink was doing laps in the pool.

This week, it all came together, and this is a salute to a great Dad who witnessed his son grow to be a man while constantly chasing a dream of being and United States Olympian. Practice, perseverance, and all out dedication to the sport. No one can ever take the glorious title of Olympian away – ever.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While We’re Young (Ideas) has noted a considerable number of lists and “mosts” created by our friends at Sportico. This week, with the U.S. Open taking center-stage at Torrey Pines, Sportico released a list of the highest paid golfers of 2021. There was no surprise who was on top! Here’s the listing:

Highest Paid Golfers of 2021:

  1. Tiger Woods – $62.2m ($191,000 on course, $62m off course)
  2. Phil Mickelson $46.1m ($4.1m/$42m)
  3. Dustin Johnson $40.8m ($24.8/$16m)
  4. Rory McIlroy $32.8m ($4.8m/$28m)
  5. Jordan Spieth $29.6m ($4.6m/$25m)
  6. Justin Thomas $20.3m ($13.3/$7m)
  7. Bryson DeChambeau $17.9m ($8.9m/$9m)
  8. Xander Shauffele $17.3m ($10.3m/$7m)
  9. Jon Rahm $16.9m ($10.9m/$6m)
  10. Hideki Matsuyama $15.4m ($5.4m/$10m)

TRAVEL ON: While the U.S. Open gathers all the eye-balls this week, New England’s only PGA Tour event will be held this week in the ‘burbs of Hartford. The Travelers Championship announced its full player field for the 2021 tournament, which will feature five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, 25 of the top 50 and 10 previous winners of the event. The tournament will be held June 24–27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. Psst, don’t tell anyone: Past champion Bubba Watson looked good at the U.S. Open and LOVES the TPC River Highlands course.

HOOP, HOOP – HOO-RAY: The USA Basketball Men’s Olympic basketball team is beginning to take shape as a handful of NBA stars took it upon themselves to announce they were committing to play in Tokyo this summer. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was the most recent to stake his claim to a place on the roster. Previously, Boston’s Jayson Tatum said he was planning to participate, along with Portland’s Damien Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Golden State’s Draymond Green. … On the nay side, LA Lakers star LeBron James and Miami’s Jimmy Butler both indicated they would pass on the opportunity this summer. Both have served USA Basketball in the past. James is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist (Beijing and London) and also played with the 2006 USA world Championship team in Japan. … The five player commitments leave seven roster spots for the Tokyo Olympic team to play under the guidance of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. … Obviously, Team USA will need a few commitments from “bigs” who can grind and rebound against the large and physical international frontlines. The current USA roster lists the likes of Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Javale McGee, Mason Plumlee, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Myles Turner, Christian Wood and the injured Anthony Davis and LeMarcus Aldridge as viable big men for consideration. USA will also need a pair (or three) true – pass first – point guards.

Ball Named NBA Rookie of Year

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CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was named recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced. He is the third player to win the annual award with Charlotte, joining Larry Johnson (1991-92) and Emeka Okafor (2004-05).

Ball received 84 first-place votes and earned 465 total points from a global panel of 99 sportswriters and broadcasters. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards received the other 15 first-place votes and finished in second place with 309 points. Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton finished in third place with 114 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.59 steals in 28.8 minutes in 51 games (31 starts), leading all rookies in assists and steals and ranking second in points and rebounds. He is the seventh rookie to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals in a season since steals became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season, joining Magic Johnson (1979-80), Penny Hardaway (1993-94), Steve Francis (1999-00), Chris Paul (2005-06), Michael Carter-Williams (2013-14) and Ben Simmons (2017-18). Ball was one of two NBA players to reach all four of those averages this season, along with Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.

On Jan. 9, Ball recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks at 19 years, 140 days old, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double. In other standout performances, Ball posted a career-high 34 points, eight assists and zero turnovers against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 5 in his third career start, and he had 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 1. Despite missing 21 games with a wrist injury, Ball finished with the second-most assists (313) and third-most three-pointers made (92) by a rookie in Hornets history.

Ball was selected as the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the first three months of the season (December/January, February and March). He was also named to the U.S. Team for the 2021 NBA Rising Stars rosters.

Charlotte selected Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball played for the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League during the 2019-20 season, where he was named the NBL Rookie of the Year.

The Kia NBA Rookie of the Year trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Eddie Gottlieb, one of the NBA’s founders. Gottlieb coached the Philadelphia Warriors to the 1946-47 championship in the league’s first season.

The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.

VOTING RESULTS: 2020-21 KIA NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
 
Player (Team) 1st Place Votes(5 Points) 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) Total Points
LaMelo Ball (Charlotte) 84 15 0 465
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) 15 75 9 309
Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento) 0 9 87 114
Saddiq Bey (Detroit) 0 0 3 3

2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Voting Results

Celtics Trade Walker; Begin to Rebuild

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BOSTON – The Boston Celtics are reportedly trading guard Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for center-forward Al Horford, 7-2 center prospect Moses Brown and a second-round pick in 2023, according to ESPN.

The trade would be new Celtics head of basketball Operations Brad Stevens‘ first move as GM after he was recently promoted from his head coaching position.

Walker joined the Celtics in 2019, the same offseason Horford departed from Boston in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. Horford played three prior seasons with the Celtics after beginning his career in Atlanta. The oft-injured Walker averaged 19.9 points and 4.8 assists in two seasons with the Celtics. His contract calls for payment of $34 million, $36m and $37m over the next three years.

Horford can be expected to provide veteran leadership in an otherwise youthful Celtics locker room and ease the team leadership role from that of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Horford’s NBA contract calls for $27.5 million, $27m and $26.5m in 2022-23, but only $14.5m of that amount is guaranteed in the final year.

In addition to re-shaping a chemistry-lacking roster, Stevens is also in search of the next Celtics head coach. In recent days, the NBA has experienced a drastic upheaval of head coaches with longtime head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and head of the NBA Coaches Association Rick Carlisle unexpectedly stepping down from the Mavericks Thursday. Carlisle played for the Celtics in the mid-1980s. In addition, Scott Brooks was unable to come to terms in Washington DC and Stan Van Gundy was relieved of his duties in New Orleans. Veteran coach Mike D’Antoni is available as are former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, former Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren and former Orlando coach Steve Clifford.