In 2021, the U.S. basketball team finally entered the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which had been postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker didn’t shoot particularly well, he started five of the six games and won a gold medal.

This year he wore the U.S. team uniform again, this time in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. He played a little better, scoring 15 points in the 98-87 victory over France in the gold medal game.

This year’s edition of the U.S. team had two big players that weren’t there last time: LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Booker admitted that the two made his Olympic experience different this time around.

“This experience was completely different from the first one. I don’t want to diminish that, but the atmosphere, of course Stephen, LeBron coming to us, this experience is comparable to any other experience in my life,” said US guard Devin Booker.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) 10 August 2024

James was named the men’s basketball most valuable player at the Olympics for his consistent standout performance in multiple categories and unselfish play. In the six games played, he averaged 14.2 points and led the United States with 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game, along with a 66% field goal percentage.

His experience from two other U.S. teams that won gold in 2008 and 2012 undoubtedly benefited this group, which included several players competing in the Olympics for the first time, including Curry, Joel Embiid, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Derrick White.