Three Former UCLA Players Named to USA Basketball Men's Olympic Team

Former UCLA men’s basketball players Jrue Holiday, Zach LaVine and Kevin Love have been named to the USA Men’s National Team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo in July and August of 2021, as announced on Monday by USA Basketball.

UCLA is the only college to have at least three former players named to the 2020 Olympic Team. In addition, the collection of former UCLA players comprises 25% of the men’s basketball roster.

The Olympics are scheduled to take place in Japan from July 23 through Aug. 8. Men’s basketball competitions will begin July 25, with the gold medal game set for Saturday, Aug. 7.

Holiday and LaVine have secured the first-ever selections to Team USA’s Olympic squad, while Kevin Love is set to make his second appearance at the Olympic. Love, who has played in the NBA the past 13 seasons, helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. Love was on that U.S. Olympic Team with former UCLA teammate Russell Westbrook.

Love, 32, starred for UCLA as a freshman in 2007-08. He was a pivotal player for the Bruins that season, helping UCLA advance to a third consecutive NCAA Final Four in 2008. Love earned consensus first-team All-America honors and was the No. 5 overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft, landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has averaged 18.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 738 career NBA contests. Love has been named an NBA All-Star five times and helped the Cleveland Cavaliers capture the 2016 NBA Championship.

Holiday, 31, excelled with the Bruins as a freshman in 2008-09. He arrived in Westwood directly after Kevin Love’s freshman season. Holiday helped UCLA compile a 26-9 overall record and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. He was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, selected by the Philadelphia 76ers. Holiday, the older brother of former UCLA guard Aaron Holiday, has averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 772 career NBA games.

LaVine, 26, had a strong freshman campaign at UCLA in 2013-14. He played in all 37 games as the Bruins went 28-9, advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. LaVine also helped UCLA win the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. He was selected No. 13 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and has spent the past four seasons with the Chicago Bulls. LaVine has averaged 19.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 411 career NBA games.

The nine other members of the 2020 USA Olympic Team include Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jerami Grant, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum. Team USA’s coaching staff is led by head coach Gregg Popovich with assistant coaches Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce and Jay Wright. Jerry Colangelo serves as the USA Men’s National Team managing director.

After opening training camp on July 6, the Men’s National Team will begin a five-game exhibition series, opening with one game against Nigeria on July 10 (at 5 p.m., PT). Team USA will also face Australia on July 12 (at 5 p.m., PT), Argentina on July 13 (at 12 p.m. PT), Australia for a second time on July 16 (at 3 p.m., PT) and Spain on July 18 (at 6 p.m., PT). Each of these exhibition games will be played at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.

The U.S. men’s have collected a medal in 18 Olympics in which they have competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men have compiled an impressive all-time record of 138-5 in Olympic action (winning percentage of .965). Since NBA players began to represent the United States in 1992, the USA has gone 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze medal. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

UCLA’s Online News Release: https://ucla.in/3jn72zi

USA Basketball’s News Release: https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2021/06/m-olympic-team-announced.aspx