2024-08-11 15:35:01
Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images
Men’s national basketball team head coach Steve Kerr believes Devin Booker is the “unsung MVP” of Team USA’s gold medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Devin Booker is an incredible basketball player. Nobody asked about him,” Kerr said at the end of his press conference Saturday, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. “He was our unsung MVP. I just wanted to say that.”
Booker recorded 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting on Saturday to power the Americans to a 98-87 gold medal victory.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
In SEPTEMBER 2023 Book said he’d lean into being a role player if it meant winning gold… today he’s an Olympic Champion 👏🥇
Did whatever it took. 😤
(h/t @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/fI1BuHATps
Booker also led his team in points through three quarters prior to Stephen Curry’s offensive outburst in the fourth.
He and Phoenix Suns teammate Kevin Durant helped Team USA out to an early lead over France by scoring 10 of the Americans’ first 12 points.
Later in the game Booker helped feed Curry for his late shower of three-pointers that helped the U.S. fend off a fourth-quarter push by France.
That wasn’t the first time both Booker and Durant have slotted in as crucial role players for Team USA.
The pair also led the Americans’ recovery from a near-loss Serbia in Thursday’s semifinal. Team USA earned a chance to play in the gold medal game in large part because of the Suns stars, who combined for eight points in 45 seconds of the fourth quarter to spark a comeback.
This ability to produce when Team USA has needed them most has kept both Booker and Durant in the lineup for every Olympic game, while other NBA stars like Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton saw limited minutes down the stretch.
Kerr had already demonstrated his trust in Booker by putting him on the floor for key moments in games. Alongside Durant, Curry, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Booker was one of the players Kerr put on the court to close out Saturday’s gold medal win.
James may have been named the MVP of the men’s basketball tournament, but it seems Kerr wants viewers to know just how important Booker was to those victories as well.
