UCLA Basketball: Jrue Holiday Unpacks Bid for Second Olympic Gold Medal

Matt Levine | Jul 22, 2024

As Team USA gets ready to go for the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, UCLA is being represented in the form of guard Jrue Holiday. Holiday is coming off winning the NBA title with the Boston Celtics, giving him the chance to win two titles in a short amount of time. 

Holiday is a defensive-minded guard who helps round out the star-studded Team USA roster. He is a glue guy for the team and is one of the leaders on the roster.

The former Bruin spoke with SportsKeeda about why he decided to join the Americans for another gold medal bid. It had a lot to do with wanting to stay in shape throughout the offseason while also bringing a legacy back with him.

"I don't like being out of shape," Holiday said. "I like how I feel when I work out. I'm actually a terrible person when I don't work out in the morning."

"It's an honor to think about," Holiday said for reasons beyond being part of a historical footnote. The importance digs deeper.

If the Americans can win the gold, it would be a special moment for all. Holiday would win his second gold medal after helping Team USA win the 2020 Olympics. 

The former Bruin provides great experience and leadership to this team, a reason why he was selected. Winning the gold means a lot in the grand scheme of things and Holiday wants to put himself on the map of historic American players.

The real games begin on July 28 against Serbia. The Americans will need to be focused as the rest of the world has a target on them and would love nothing more than to knock Team USA off.

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