Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine helped Team USA win Gold with an 87-82 victory over France on Friday, August 6, at the Tokyo Olympics.
According to his bio, LaVine was selected as one of the players on Team USA and started one game and played a valuable sixth man role by averaging 10.6 points per game.
Prior to winning the Gold medal in Tokyo, LaVine was second in team assists and played solid defense throughout the tournament. LaVine also shot a team-best 47 percent from three-point range and was named a first-time Olympian in his NBA career.
During the 2020-21 regular season, LaVine scored a season-high 46 points with nine 3-pointers for the Chicago Bulls in the team’s 129-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Under newly hired head coach Billy Donovan, LaVine averaged career highs in both scoring and shooting efficiency. Following his success, LaVine has been named a reserve for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
It marked his first All-Star selection, and he became the first Bulls player selected to make the team since Jim- my Butler, in 2017. In the 34th game of the season, LaVine had his 17th game scoring 30 points or more.
He finished the season with a career-high average of 27.4 points per game and ranked seventh in NBA scoring during the season.
In addition to finishing the season with career points per game average, LaVine also reached career highs in re- bounds (5.0), assists (4.9), 3-point shooting (41.9 percent), overall field goal percentage (50.7), and free throw percentage (84.9).
The win by Team USA marked the 16th time the team has won Gold. The U.S. men’s basketball team took home the Gold in 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1976, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2021.
Kevin Durant and Zach LaVine’s impact on Team U S A: LaVine’s friend and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points in the championship game. Durant was named the Olympic Men’s Basketball Team MVP and became Team USA’s all-time leading scorer during the process.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
