South Carlina HC Dawn Staley names 'unsung hero' of US Men's basketball team, and it's not LeBron James
After Team USA's big 110-84 win against Serbia on Sunday, South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley praised Devin Booker for his excellent performance. The United States will face South Sudan in their second Olympic group stage game on Wednesday.
Speaking with Mike Tirico on the NBC broadcast, Staley acknowledged Booker's play.
"Devin Booker is the unsung hero," Dawn Staley said. "You know KD is gonna be KD. But, Devin Booker plays both sides of the ball, can score a whole lot of basketball points and also defend. He’s like the quiet assassin of that group."
Booker finished the game with 12 points, five assists and three rebounds, while also making four out of five attempts three-pointers. He was in the star-studded starting lineup featuring LeBron James, Steph Curry, Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday.
"Whatever it takes to be effective," Booker said ahead of the Olympics. "Doing the extra stuff, offensive rebounding, defending at a high level, figuring out the spacing, just trying to be a glue guy. I hear everyone say that everyone is catching up to us. It keeps us hungry, it keeps us motivated… We still want to claim our dominance over the world."
Kevin Durant came off the bench and delivered a man-of-the-match performance, scoring 23 points, two rebounds and 5-on-5 shooting from beyond the arc to help Team USA win over Nikola Jokic's Serbia.
Dawn Staley shares her advice to LeBron James
Dawn Staley, who carried the US national flag at the Olympics' opening ceremony in 2004, gave a small piece of advice to the 2024 USA flag bearer, LeBron James. On Friday, Staley took to Twitter to say that James and Coco Guaff should carry the American flag straight and feel the moment of humbling honor.
"Hey Coco Gauff, LeBron James! Congrats on being our flag bearers! Btw yall look great? Hold the flag straight…no dipping. Permanent smile….you’re not going to be able to anything else but smile because it is the coolest and most unreal feeling ever! Enjoy the moment!," Staley tweeted.
Dawn Staley has made a remarkable contribution to the success of the United States women's basketball team at the Olympics. She has won four Olympic gold medals — one as a coach and three as a player.
Staley secured her first Olympic gold medal for Team USA at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Four years later, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won her second gold. Her third gold medal came at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Staley also led Team USA as head coach to a first-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.