The Tokyo Olympics was crammed to the bursting point with great basketball. Team USA took home the gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions, but there were excellent performances from Spain, France (the team the men beat in the gold medal game), Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Australia, and Japan (the team the women beat in the gold medal game).
With so much talent, it’s tough to pick a handful of standouts, but FIBA, the organizer of international basketball competitions, did just that.
With Team USA taking home two golds, the MVPs couldn’t be from anywhere else. FIBA named Kevin Durant its men’s MVP for his performance in Tokyo. He was the team’s leader, a two-time Olympic veteran, and his heroics definitely played a big part in helping the U.S. men’s team secure gold.
On the women’s side, 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart took the top honors as the team earned its seventh straight gold medal.
FIBA’s all-star five
FIBA also named its five all-stars for the women’s and men’s teams, and there was a lot of talent to choose from. For the women, Stewart and A’ja Wilson hailed from the WNBA, but there was representation from teams and leagues around the world. Breakout star Rui Machida plays for Japan’s national team. Belgium’s Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP, now plays in Russia after a seven-year career with the Washington Mystics. Sandrine Gruda of France plays in Italy after spending several years in the WNBA.
FIBA’s five all-stars on the men’s side are all NBA players, but only one is from the United States. The four other players were each from a different country: Spain (Ricky Rubio), Australia (Patty Mills), Slovenia (Luka Doncic), and France (Rudy Gobert).
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