Team USA won its fifth consecutive gold medal last week, beating France in the gold medal game, 98-87. Team USA was a strong group, with many All-NBA players and future Hall of Famers.
The United States was the favorite to win, and they did so in spectacular fashion. Every player who saw significant playing time played their part, but no player received more praise than Devin Booker, the All-Star point guard for the Phoneix Suns.
Booker, an All-Star himself, did the little things necessary for Team USA to emerge victorious. Many have praised Booker for doing his job, and even more in his role, including former Trail Blazers legend Damian Lillard.
Lillard met with the media Friday at his third annual Formula Zero elite camp for high school and college boys basketball prospects at PHHacility in Phoenix. He talked about Team USA’s gold medal win and praised Booker.
“The character of Team USA this year is what’s really come through. You see the veterans. You see Steph (Curry), you see LeBron (James), you see KD (Durant), even Book. He’s been in the league for 10 years now.” Lillard said. “You see guys like that when they’re in the thick of it, that’s the character of our game over the last 10, 15 years, and they’ve held their own.
“When you look at the direction the game is going, these guys probably won’t be here at the next Olympics, and it will be our younger generation of players who will take over.”
“Not everybody can be a star. Not everybody can have the ball. Not everybody can score points. Somebody has to be willing to step up and contribute to the ultimate goal,” Lillard said.
“Watching the games, I thought it was obvious he was going in with that mentality. I’m going to get guys, I’m going to get the ball, I’m going to take open shots, I’m going to fight for the team. I think it takes a special type of person to take on that role when there are so many outside voices and people talking about every little thing, and that’s definitely what he did.”
Booker was spectacular for Team USA en route to gold, averaging 11.7 points per game, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range in six starts. Booker was Team USA’s fifth-leading scorer.
Lillard knows what it takes to win gold. The 34-year-old was part of the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 2020 Olympics. He played and started in all six games, averaging 11.2 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists, playing 24 minutes per game.
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