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Warriors past and present helped Team USA take basketball gold in Tokyo - Golden State of Mind

USA! USA! USA!

What an exciting time for hoop fans around the world and especially those us stateside basking in the glow of Team USA’s men’s team winning Olympic gold last night. They knocked off a very game France squad 87-82 in Tokyo, Japan, giving the men’s team their fourth straight gold in Olympic competition.

The team avenged themselves from an earlier defeat to France this summer, and proved that although the world may have improved at basketball, they ain’t on the U.S. level...yet.

This victory was especially thrilling for Dub Nation as several guys with ties to Golden State past and present helped Team USA bring home the gold.

Fitz is global, baby!

Big shout out to Bob Fitzgerald who covered Olympic hoops like a pro this summer! “Fitz” is the Emmy award winning Warriors play-by-play announcer who has been the voice of the team on TV since 1997. I’ve been hearing that man call games for most of my life, and his boisterous calls go hand-in-hand with the Splash Bros highlight reels. He’s also been covering Olympic sports over the last 20 years, and it was pretty neat hearing our local guy delivering his unique brand of charm to the viewing experience.

Kevin Durant is BACK

Durant, a two-time Finals MVP with the Warriors, shined bright as the Team USA’s leading man. After surpassing Carmelo Anthony as the all-time scoring leader in U.S. men’s history, he finished off the competition with 29 points in the gold medal game to ensure victory.

Although he’s left the Warriors organization, Bay Area fans remember when Durant pushed his body beyond the limit and tore his Achilles helping Golden State compete for titles. There was a real concern that he’d never be the same megastar player he was during his time with Golden State.

But he bounced back, leading the country to victory after finishing a grueling playoff run with his new Brooklyn Nets squad. He looked as smooth as ever, with his trademark efficiency and defensive verve on full display.

Well done, Easy Money Sniper!

Steve Kerr adds some MORE hardware to his trophy case

Kerr is Golden State’s coach and the man responsible for directing their dynastic run, as well as their retooling process. He joined his mentor Gregg Popovich in Tokyo to help mesh this new group of Olympians together. In doing so, Kerr added his second gold medal and more basketball glory to his legendary career.

Per NBA.com, Kerr won his first gold medal with the 1986 Fiba World Championship team (the last American men’s senior team made up of amateurs to win gold). He also is the first man to win at least three rings as both player and coach, as he has five NBA championships as a player, and three as a coach.

PUT SOME RESPECT ON COACH’S NAME!

Javale McGee is now an Olympic gold medalist

When the 7-foot McGee joined the Dubs back in 2017, he was known more for Shaqtin-A-Fool than quality play on the court. But he turned into an outstanding role player on the dynasty, delivering emphatic dunks and devastating blocks as the athletic giant the team needed. Even though he was only a Warrior for two season (with back-to-back titles to show for it), his impact was enough that to this day fans say stuff like “If James Wiseman can play the Javale-type role, we’re good”.

He was a late addition to the men’s team after Kevin Love dropped out, and now he’s made some history for both his country and family. McGee’s mother Pamela won gold for the women’s team at the 1984 games, making them first mother-son duo to win gold.

Draymond Green is a first ballot hall-of-famer

If Green had sat out these Olympics, nobody would have blamed him. He had just finished a grueling season with the shorthanded Warriors where he captained a top-5 defense and led the team in assists. But thankfully Green went to Tokyo and played a major role in leading the defensive intensity that ultimately helped Team USA prevail.

Per NBA.com:

Green tallied averages of 3.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 17.8 minutes over six games for the United States, becoming just the seventh player ever to win multiple Gold medals (2016, 2020) and multiple NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018), joining Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson.

I did not know only seven players had won multiple gold medals and NBA championships; how cool is it that two of them did it for the WARRIORS? Green’s impact on the game has always been more than a box score can truly quantify, both physically and emotionally. We do know for sure that wherever he’s at, he’s taking charge to do the dirty work that helps teams win.

Green is putting together a magical career that one day will make him a no-brainer choice for getting into the hall of fame. In the meantime, Green gets to celebrate this gold while setting his eyes on coming back to the Bay and helping the Warriors return to glory...again.

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