ONE FLAG, ONE COUNTRY
NBA rivals become Olympic teammates
We’ll be on the same path, talking basketball Xs and Os, trying to get the job done
MILWAUKEE (AFP) — After battling each other for more than two weeks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, Phoenix guard Devin Booker and Milwaukee stars Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton will quickly become US Olympic teammates.
All three will join the three-time defending champion American squad in Japan following the conclusion of the best-of-seven championship series, with host Milwaukee leading 3-2 entering Game 6 on Tuesday.
Booker has produced two 40-point performances for the Suns but the Bucks won both times and no matter how the series goes, winners and losers must set aside their rivalry quickly to unite in red, white and blue.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Middleton said Monday. “Right now, we haven’t said a word to each other. I’m sure we won’t be best buddies during Team USA, but we’ll be teammates for sure.”
“We’ll be on the same path, talking basketball Xs and Os, trying to get the job done. That’s what being competitors is all about, but also what being a teammate is all about.”
There’s a respect between the players that underlies their passionate fight against each other, which saw Holiday make a key steal from Booker with game five on the line Sunday.
“I would say just understanding competition and that it’s never personal between who you’re going with, unless lines are crossed,” Booker said.
“Those guys aren’t that type and I would never go that way with them, because there’s a high respect level for each other. I think that’s why we’re in the position that we’re in right now.”
“Representing your country is a whole different dynamic than competing against each other in the NBA Finals, but I can always respect somebody that competes at the highest level.”
As they battle for an NBA crown before joining the quest for gold, the Tokyo-bound trio have watched US exhibition games in Las Vegas — two of them upset losses to Nigeria and Australia.
They’ve also watched Washington guard Bradley Beal be lost to Covid-19 with another guard, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, forced to stay home from the team’s flight to Japan after being placed into Covid-19 protocols. “I heard about all that,” Holiday said. “Fortunately for me, I’m in probably one of the biggest games of my career, this coming-up game.”
Both Bucks said it wasn’t a tough decision to play for the US team, even with a tight turnaround from the NBA Finals, which could go to a seventh game on Thursday, to Sunday’s start of Olympic competition.