Bird and Taurasi Bring USA 7th Place Under Senior Women’s Basketball


SAITAMA, Japan — Members of the United States women’s basketball team lined up on the court at Saitama Super Arena, climbed to the highest podium, and raised their hands above their heads.

The scene was in some ways new and unfamiliar. Thick white masks hid the lower half of the actors’ faces. The seats in the stands behind them were empty. But in other respects, that’s what the basketball world has seen of the American women’s team for over two decades.

The United States dominated the field in the final of the Olympic tournament, beating Japan 90-75 to take the team’s seventh consecutive gold medal. The Americans’ skills were unmatched throughout a Game where they didn’t lose a match. And then in the middle of the team picture were the smiling faces of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, two veteran guards who had won their first gold medals before some of their current teammates entered kindergarten.

Bird and Taurasi took their fifth gold medal, a record for basketball players at the Olympics. Each of them met for the first time at the 2004 Games in Athens and have been loyal to the team ever since, taking the stick from the players who came before them and trying to pass on something to the next generation.

“I hope we left a legacy for young players that they can carry that torch,” said Bird, who had 7 points and 3 assists in the gold medal game. “It’s incredible to be sitting here now, after 20 years.”

Bird, 40, confirmed that these would be his last Olympics (“No one needs to ask that anymore,” he said. Taurasi (7 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) seemed to be saying the same thing when he talked nostalgically about his international career after the game.

But when asked if he would join Bird, Taurasi did not refuse to play in the 2024 Games, where he will be 42 years old.

“I love Paris,” she said, sipping her Taurasi champagne. “They have beautiful buildings there, great fashion.”

Bird and Taurasi’s international careers shone against the broader backdrop of excellence for the national team. Filled with WNBA stars today, the women’s team won 55 games in a row at the Olympics. The last time he lost in this tournament was at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

The team’s consecutive Olympic titles were matched by the American men’s team’s seven gold runs from 1936 to 1968.

In the midst of a generational change, there were many assurances that the team’s future on Sunday would be equally bright.

The Americans’ game plan that never stopped working was to get the ball into Brittney Griner. He led the team with 30 points and almost never missed a shot, finishing 14 to 18 from the court.

As Griner spoke in the tunnel next to the pitch after the game, his teammates playfully teased him about his big game. Griner, “Can I have some barbecue sauce for those 30 pieces?” yell.

Griner’s totals weren’t the only standout stat line of the night. Breanna Stewart, 26, had 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. A’ja Wilson, who turned 25 on Sunday, had 19 points and 5 blocks.

All three players had nothing but praise and respect for the longevity and legacy of Bird and Taurasi.

“In the locker room, ‘Did they really do that five times?’ I’m sitting like that,” he said. “In the opening ceremony, ‘Five times? My foot hurt!’ But it’s true. It makes you want to go back and keep giving and building for generations to come.”

Japan relied on their outside shots to keep the score close in Sunday’s first half. But the Americans were very patient with the rim, very tough on the defense, and very tall on the paint. The United States recorded 12 blocks as a team; The Japanese finished with none.

Japan’s Maki Takada continued to lead with 17 points and Nako Motohashi added 16 points as he went 5 to 4 from 3 points.

After the last bell, a few Japanese players shed tears. Japanese athletes who did not win a gold medal in these Games, but the sadness seemed to last only for a few seconds. In reality, Japan’s silver was a fine achievement for a team that had not made it to the medal round before. As the American team celebrated on the field, the Japanese players formed a ring in the midfield and leaned towards the stands.

Throughout the match, they received energetic support from hundreds of Game staff and volunteers who stood in the stands to watch, and the final act received a warm, applauding applause. When the Japanese players received their medals, they celebrated with as much joy as the Americans.

“We were lucky that there weren’t 30,000 Japanese fans in that building today because it would have been a different match,” Taurasi said.

US coach Dawn Staley, who played in the 2004 team that brought Bird and Taurasi their first medal, won his first gold medal as a coach. The Americans have three players, including one from the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Olympics that kickstarted the current gold medal streak.

After the match, Staley said that he would also leave the team.

“Who else will sit on this podium without them in 2024?” said Staley, smiling as he looked at Bird and Taurasi. “I am not.”



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