Current:Home > FinanceDevin Booker performance against Brazil latest example of Team USA's offensive depth-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Devin Booker performance against Brazil latest example of Team USA's offensive depth
View Date:2025-01-11 22:17:19
PARIS — Four U.S. men’s basketball games at the 2024 Paris Olympics, four different leading scorers.
Against Brazil in the quarterfinals Tuesday, it was Devin Booker’s team-high 18 points that propelled the U.S. to a dominant 109-78 victory and into the semifinals against Serbia on Thursday.
“Just trying to knock down the open shot,” said Booker, who was 6-for-9 shooting, including 5-for-7 on 3s. “When you have shooters like Steph (Curry), and playmakers like LeBron (James), you’re going to find yourself open.”
Booker was one of five U.S. players in double figures, and the Phoenix Suns All-Star guard continues to have a strong Olympics in the shadow of bigger stars.
Booker recorded his third game with at least 10 points, had an Olympics-high against Brazil and is shooting 56.7% from the field and 62.5% on 3-pointers.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
MORE:Enjoy this era of U.S. men's basketball Olympic superstars while you still can
➤ Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
Kevin Durant led the U.S. scoring in their Olympics opener. Bam Adebayo topped the scoreboard in the second game and Anthony Edwards led the way in the third game.
“That's what our team is built on, depth, and any night we can have anybody get it going as far as the scoring load and Book had it from the start all the way to the finish,” James said.
U.S. coach Steve Kerr has emphasized defense and rebounding, and with so much offense on the team, Kerr figures it will come from somewhere even if he doesn’t know exactly where.
In the NBA, that would be a problem. It would be a problem for some other Olympic teams, such as Serbia or Germany. There needs to be a hierarchy of where points originate. But not on this team.
“There's no real challenge with it other than just reminding the team that that's the beauty and the strength of our team is that it can be any one of these guys there,” Booker said. “They all have to carry their franchises individually when they go back to the NBA. We know they're capable of carrying our team on any given day, but we don't know who it's going to be. And that's the strength of the team. As long as we play the right way and move the ball and somebody's going to get hot. That's how we feel.”
Even Curry acknowledged it’s a little strange playing that way, but that’s just part of basketball at the Olympics. If Curry doesn’t make his first couple of shots, he might not get another chance to get hot.
“Everybody has to be ready for your moment whenever it is,” Curry said, “and I think that's a challenge because again, you don't know from quarter to quarter from game to game who it's going to be. It's a fun way to play if you're bought into it. Let's just win the basketball game and who cares what it looks like. It's easier said than done because we're all not used to that. But it's a fun way to play, especially for six game(s) that we're trying to win.”
Booker has quietly become one of the most important players for the U.S. – a guard who can defend, get his points with his jump shot, especially at the 3-point line, and post up smaller guards.
He won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and arrived at training camp in Las Vegas in July willing to do whatever is necessary to win a second gold.
“I was not always a star of a team,” Booker said. “I was a sixth man in college, so I've always approached the game with whatever I have to do to get on the court and be effective and just understanding the talent that's around and how the game is different over there and having that experience last Olympics. That has put me in the right mindset from day one.”
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
veryGood! (45)
Related
- Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
- Roland Quisenberry: The Visionary Architect Leading WH Alliance into the Future
- After Trump Win, World Says ‘We’ve Been Here Before’
- AI FinFlare: Damon Quisenberry's Professional Journey
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Olympian Madeline Musselman Honors Husband Pat Woepse After Fatal Cancer Battle
- Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates again as post-election uncertainty grows
- Innovation-Driven Social Responsibility: The Unique Model of AI ProfitPulse
- Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
- Caroline Ellison begins 2-year sentence for her role in Bankman-Fried’s FTX fraud
Ranking
- Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
- Target’s Early Black Friday Deals Have Arrived: Save Up to 50% off Ninja, Beats, Apple & Christmas Decor
- Winner of Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat still undetermined in close race
- AI FinFlare: Damon Quisenberry's Professional Journey
- California teen pleads guilty in Florida to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US
- A gunman has repeatedly fired at cars on a busy highway near North Carolina’s capital
- Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown Marks Rare Celebration After Kody Brown Split
- The surprising way I’m surviving election day? Puppies. Lots of puppies.
Recommendation
-
Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging ‘Real Housewives’ creators abused a cast member
-
'Fat Leonard' contractor in US Navy bribery scandal sentenced to 15 years in prison
-
Kourtney Kardashian Shows Son Rocky Barker Bonding With Travis Barker in New Photo
-
Bowen Yang Apologizes to Ariana Grande for Being Over Eager About SNL Kiss
-
Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
-
Jason Kelce provides timely reminder: There's no excuse to greet hate with hate
-
NFL MVP odds: Ravens' Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry among favorites before Week 10
-
Attention Upper East-Siders: Gossip Girl Fans Spot Continuity Errors in Series