MSU Basketball Legend, 2-Time Gold Medalist Has Complete Faith in Team USA

Former Michigan State men's basketball forward and two-time Olympic gold medalist Draymond Green is high on Team USA basketball.

Jul 31, 2021; Saitama, Japan; Team United States centre Draymond Green (14) reacts on the court against Czech Republic during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Saitama Super Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports / Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA has been the "gold" standard for men's basketball in the Summer Olympics ever since the 1992 "Dream Team."

Since that iconic team took gold, the United States has gone on to win six gold medals in the last seven Summer Olympic Games.

This year's United States team will be looking for its fifth consecutive gold medal in Paris this summer. While USA has still dominated the Olympic Games for more than a decade, this current roster is being held to a standard that hasn't been weighed against the United States since the 2008 and 2012 teams that were led by Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Now, James is back with Team USA, and he is joined by the greatest shooter of all time in Steph Curry, two-time NBA champion and three-time gold medalist Kevin Durant, former MVP Joel Embiid and a number of other players who are considered the best in today's NBA.

As is always the case for Team USA, anything short of a gold medal will be considered a failure. In the exhibition games so far, it's been clear the team is still gelling. It did, however, begin to show glimpses of its potential in its dominant victory over three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Wednesday.

Former Michigan State men's basketball forward and four-time NBA champion Draymond Green is quite familiar with winning with Team USA, as he is a two-time gold medalist himself.

Green is certain the United States will repeat once again.

"This is our sport, that's what we do, of course we are winning gold," Green said, via a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from NBA on ESPN.

Green, who has been a key part of the Golden State Warriors' success since entering the league in 2012, won gold medals with Team USA in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020.

The former Spartan forward is one of just three Michigan State men's basketball alumni to have won gold at the Summer Olympics since 1992. Earvin "Magic" Johnson won with the Dream Team and Steve Smith won in 2000. Spartan legend Jason Richardson won bronze with the United States in 2004.

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