After failing to win a medal at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup, Team USA set its sights on doing everything in its power to win gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics. And indeed, the Americans took gold with a 98-87 victory over France on Saturday, thanks in large part to a star-studded team that featured players like Devin Booker taking on smaller roles on the team to help them win.

After playing a pretty big role in helping the U.S. team win gold at the 2020 Olympics, Booker took on a slightly smaller role with the U.S. team this time around to help them get back to the top of the mountain. Following America’s failure at the 2023 FIBA ​​World Cup, Kyle Kuzma noted back in September that the U.S. team needed stars who knew how to play their role if they wanted to win gold at the Olympics. Booker responded to Kuzma in a post unearthed in the wake of their win, saying he was up to the task.

Devin Booker played a big role in the US team’s gold win

Booker is used to playing a leading role in the Phoenix Suns offense in the NBA, but he has been in and out of the starting lineup on Team USA. That’s been the case for pretty much everyone on that team, but Booker has always managed to perform when he’s found his way on the court.

As Kuzma noted, he was exactly the kind of player Team USA needed if they were going to win gold. Instead of a group of stars trying to compete against each other, Team USA was made up of stars willing to do anything to win it all. Hell, guys like Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton didn’t play in some games because head coach Steve Kerr just didn’t have enough playing time for them.

It’s pretty impressive to re-read this post from Booker after Team USA accomplished its main goal. While it may not seem like it at first glance, there’s a good chance they couldn’t have won without him. At just 27 years old, he now has two Olympic gold medals to his name, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back on the court for Team USA at the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Owen Crisafulli is the senior editor and NFL director at ClutchPoints and also covers the NBA and MLB. He recently graduated from Nichols College with a Masters in Business Administration. Prior to that, he earned his Bachelors in Sports Management, ran his own website, and wrote for FanSided and the Basketball Network.