NBA All-Star Devin Booker proves to be essential for Team USA
Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker plays multiple roles for Team USA as he looks to win his second straight Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris.
Three former Kentucky basketball stars will return from Paris with another Olympic gold medal in tow.
Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis, all marquee players for the Wildcats under former coach John Calipari, were part of the victorious U.S. men’s basketball team, which topped France, 98-87, in the gold-medal game Saturday.
It’s the second Olympic gold medal for all three: Davis picked up his first at the 2012 Games in London, while Adebayo and Booker played for Team USA at the Tokyo Games in 2020.
Davis had eight points (on 4-of-5 shooting) and posted game highs in rebounds (nine) and blocked shots (four). Six of Davis’ rebounds were on the offensive end, while he accounted for four of Team USA’s six rejections in the 11-point win. Booker ended with 15 points — tied with Kevin Durant for second most on the team, trailing Stephen Curry’s 24 — and made six of his 10 field goal attempts. Booker also had six rebounds and three assists. Adebayo finished with two points (makng the shot he took) and one rebound in nine minutes off the bench.
Hailing from North Carolina, Adebayo averaged 13 points and eight rebounds in his lone season as a Wildcat and earned All-SEC honors on a team that went 32-6 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. After becoming the 14th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft (selected by Miami), Adebayo has been one of the league’s most consistent players. He has five NBA All-Defensive Team selections, three All-Star Game appearances and helped the Heat reach the Finals twice (2020 and 2023).
After capturing the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year award and landing on the All-SEC Freshman Team during UK’s 38-1 campaign in 2014-15, Booker became the No. 13 pick in the 2015 draft by the Phoenix Suns. Since then, he’s turned into one of the NBA’s best players, particularly offensively. He’s the youngest player in league history with a 60-point game and also the youngest with consecutive 50-point outings. Booker led the Suns to the NBA Finals during the 2020-21 campaign and has appeared in the All-Star Game four times.
Davis led the Wildcats to their most recent national championship (2012) and then went No. 1 overall in that year’s NBA draft to the New Orleans Pelicans (called the Hornets at that time). After he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019, Davis won his first NBA championship when the league went into a bubble in Orlando, Florida, to complete the 2019-20 season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Davis is a nine-time NBA All-Star and has been named to the All-NBA and NBA All-Defensive teams five times each. He was part of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. Davis has averaged 24.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks during his 12-season NBA career.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 10:17:00
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