How Olympic Gold Changes These NBA Player's All-Time Standing
Team USA has completed the 4-year mission, winning the Olympic Basketball Gold Medal over France 98-87. The U.S. has now won the last five Gold Medals in Olympic Basketball, four of which Kevin Durant has participated in. The U.S. all-time leading scorer in Olympic history now has more Gold Medals than any other basketball player. This elevates his all-time standing for where he's placed in the Top 75 players. How does this new hardware affect other player's legacies?
Devin Booker
There hasn't been nearly enough recognition for Devin Booker's play in these Olympics. The career-long Phoenix Sun now has 2 Olympic Gold medals to his name and was the perfect role-player on the 2024 team. Booker accepted his role, shot the ball incredibly well, and was a hound on defense. He was consistently defending the opponent's best guard, and doing an excellent job of it, locking in defensively like never before.
Booker will gain a lot of respect from this campaign, and considering he's only 27 years old, there's a strong chance he'll be back in four years.
Adding 2x Olympic Gold Medalist to Booker's resume is a huge boost. He's already one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, and combined with his All-Star and All-NBA appearances, he's quietly building a Hall of Fame resume.
Stephen Curry
Curry already has a strong case for being Top 10 of all time, but his performances in the semi-final and final have elevated him again. For years, there's been a misconception that Steph isn't a clutch player. Now he's shown the world that he's a guy who delivers when it matters. They wouldn't have made the Final without him, and he dropped four clutch 3-pointers in a row to put the nail in France's coffin.
Whether or not this Olympics puts Curry higher on the all-time list, it's undeniable that he's delivered big time. He was named to the All-Olympic team, a well-deserved honor after his knockout performances.
Jrue Holiday
Like Booker, Jrue Holiday is now a two-time Olympic Champion, which the panel considers when deciding who makes the Hall of Fame.
As Holiday is only a 1x All-Star, he doesn't have an accolade-loaded resume. He has been one of the best defensive players of the last decade though, and has won 2 NBA championships to go along with the Gold Medals. If he manages to pick up another NBA ring, which is possible, he'll get into the Hall of Fame.
LeBron James
LeCaptain America has done it again. He has been named the MVP of the tournament and led his team to Olympic Gold.
In what will be his last Olympic campaign as a player, James has secured his third Olympic Gold medal. His final challenge is to win a championship with the Lakers this upcoming NBA season. If he manages to do that, it could put him over Micheal Jordan in the G.O.A.T debate.
While many already have King James dubbed as the greatest of all time, this Gold Medal only adds to his legendary legacy.