Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker continues to be praised for how well he played for Team USA in their run to the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Team USA coach Steve Kerr said after the gold medal game that Booker was the “unsung MVP” of the team for doing all the little things, and plenty of fans and NBA players have agreed with the sentiment.
NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, who sat courtside for the majority of Team USA’s games serving as a FIBA ambassador, explained why he felt the same way as Kerr about Booker on his 7PM in Brooklyn Podcast.
“The one person on the team who had to change their role was Devin Booker,” Anthony said. “(Booker was like) ‘I’ve accepted the role of being a pick and pop guy.'”
“Devin Booker comes from that. In college, he came from that. He came off the bench. He’s used to earning his minutes and working his way and hard work. People forget about that. He was more adaptable to that role. He was the unsung hero on that team. That’s hard to do.”
Melo explains why Devin Booker was the unsung hero for Team USA in Paris pic.twitter.com/AUEHTSC7xc
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) August 18, 2024
Booker captured his second Olympic gold medal in Paris while averaging 11.7 points on 56.8% shooting from the field, 56.5% shooting from 3 and 3.3 assists in 22 minutes per game in Paris. He led the U.S. with a +130 plus/minus through the team’s six Olympic games and five exhibition matchups. Booker had a team-high 18 points in the U.S.’s quarterfinals win over Brazil and 15 points, including a team-high 13 in the first half, in the gold medal win over France, while starting alongside four MVPs in Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid.
Normally a star player in the NBA with the ball in his hands a lot of the time, Booker’s role on Team USA was highlighted by him picking up players full court, fighting through screens, being a floor spacer offensively, making the right pass as needed, crashing the offensive glass and much more.
Anthony won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA (2008, 2012 and 2016) and one bronze (2004), and he knows what it’s like to have to play a role on a team as stacked as the national team having played with Kobe Bryant, James, Durant and others.
Booker now gears up for his 10th NBA season this fall with the Phoenix Suns, who begin the season on Oct. 23 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Devin Booker releases full vlog of journey to Olympic gold medal
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
