USA Basketball: Latest Gold Medal Journey Adds New Testament to Legacy of Greatness
At a unique time in our nation's history, both the men's and women's teams give us new standards of excellence to admire
After being delayed a year from Olympic competition due to COVID-19, the 2020 Olympics found a way to compete this year in its intended home of Tokyo, Japan and despite competition that was stiffer than usual, the United States basketball programs exerted their dominance in their respective tournaments once again.
With both the women and men’s teams playing in the gold medal games, it is a testament to not only the greatness of both teams, but also the perseverance of the athletes in achieving greatness.
Sports has always been a major component in bringing people together during tough times in society. Though there are other important issues such as racism, police brutality and other social injustices taking place, COVID-19 was the common event that affected every race, color and gender within this world. Sports has been there every step of the way during this COVID era, and it has not been pretty for both women and men’s professional basketball players.
After coming from the bubble experience and heading into the 2020-21 season, players around the league did not have much time to prepare ad start the new season. Due to the quick start, number of back-to-back games and COVID protocols, currently Olympic-rostered NBA players such as Zach LaVine, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum had health setbacks that kept them from playing their full seasons in 2021.
As Olympic preparation started, Team USA struggled to find their rhythm and gel together enough to win games, losing three out of the four exhibition games in Las Vegas.
Bradley Beal, one of this year’s original team members, could not finish the exhibition rounds and was sent home due to COVID. LaVine had to miss the team’s original flight to due to being placed on the restricted list for a false COVID test, and eventually got on his own flight to Tokyo to meet with the team.
We cannot forget to mention that the team was also missing three members due to the NBA Finals, so after the NBA Finals, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Kris Middleton had to hop on a plane together and fly to Tokyo to start laying Olympic games.
There were a lot of rough patches these athletes had to go through, but nothing set them off of their goal of bringing home gold for our nation once again.
On the women’s side, there is a uniqueness to their situation that not many basketball athletes can relate to. A lot of the women players are playing in the WNBA or professional leagues across the world that are still in season. From a WNBA perspective, women athletes have played the first half of their seasons and had their All-Star games prior to coming to the Olympics.
With the Olympics over now these athletes are in the process of traveling back to the states and reuniting with teams and teammates who right away have to gear up for a competitive second half of the WNBA regular season, leading right into the playoffs. All of this is taking place while playing through COVID protocols, which could stand to get more strict in coming weeks due to the deepening effect of the Delta variant across the country.
While giving props to the traditional USA women’s team we cannot neglect the fact that another squad, led in large part by Stephanie Dolson of the Chicago Sky, took the inaugural gold offered in 3X3 competition as well.
USA’s women have won 56 consecutive games and eight of the last eleven gold medals, including playinh in seven consecutive gold medal games. The men have won the last three gold medals and 15 of the 19 gold medals awarded in their sport.
Adding to excellence, and living up to it, comes at a cost. This go around features time away from family, lack of training, no fans and cardboard sleeping settings. Athletes, no matter the sport, are risking their lives every day to take care of their families and themselves, but ultimately play a bigger role in being a calm before the storms of life.
To take on the pressure of risking their bodies during COVID, play on the biggest stage in representation of our country and finish as the best in the world is a journey that should be praised. They are a true representation of what our country is.