Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images
Steve Kerr, head coach of the men’s national basketball team, believes Devin Booker is the “secret MVP” of the U.S. team’s gold medal victory at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“Devin Booker is an incredible basketball player. Nobody asked for him,” Kerr said at the end of his press conference on Saturday, according to Ben Golliver of the ^ “Washington Post: The Secret World”. “He was our secret MVP. I just wanted to say that.”
Booker scored 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting on Saturday, helping the Americans to a 98-87 gold medal victory.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
In SEPTEMBER 2023, Book said he would like to play a supporting role when it came to winning gold… today he is an Olympic champion 👏🥇
I did everything that was necessary. 😤
(h/t @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/fI1BuHATps
Booker also led his team in points for three quarters before Stephen Curry unleashed his offense in the fourth quarter.
He and Phoenix Suns teammate Kevin Durant helped the U.S. team take an early lead against France by scoring 10 of the Americans’ first 12 points.
Later in the game, Booker helped Curry make his late three-pointer that helped the U.S. fend off France’s fourth-quarter advance.
It wasn’t the first time that Booker and Durant served as important role players for the US team.
The pair also led the Americans’ recovery from a near-loss to Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday. Team USA earned a chance to play in the gold medal game thanks in large part to the Suns’ stars, who combined for eight points in 45 seconds of the fourth quarter to trigger a comeback.
This ability to perform when the U.S. team needed them most is what kept both Booker and Durant on the roster for every Olympic game, while other NBA stars like Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton ended up getting limited minutes.
Kerr had already shown his trust in Booker by putting him on the court at key moments in games. Along with Durant, Curry, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Booker was one of the players Kerr put on the court to secure the gold medal win on Saturday.
Although James was named the most valuable player of the men’s basketball tournament, Kerr apparently wants to show viewers how important Booker was to those victories as well.
