25 Current & Former NBA Players Medal at Olympics | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 22.
  • 25 Current & Former NBA Players Medal at Olympics

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    A record 25 current and former NBA players wore medals around their necks when the United States, Spain, and Russia stood on the medal stand at the 2012 Summer Olympics this past Sunday in London, the NBA announced.  The gold medal game alone featured 20 current and former players.

    At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, 24 current and former NBA players were on the medal stand and 16 current and former players won medals at the 2004 Games in Athens.
     
    Twelve NBA teams were represented on the medal stand, with the Western Conference Finals champion Oklahoma City Thunder having the most with four players.  Three players from the Minnesota Timberwolves collected medals as did two players each from the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Knicks.  Seven NBA teams had one Olympic medalist.

    When the tournament tipped off on Sunday, July 29, rosters featured a record 41 current NBA players from 21 different NBA teams.  Eleven of the 12 national teams competing featured at least one current NBA player, with France as the international country with the most with six.

    The following is a complete list of current and former NBA Players who won 2012 medals:

    COUNTRY        NBA PLAYER        NBA TEAM
    Russia        Viktor Khryapa        Former Player
            Andrei Kirilenko        Minnesota Timberwolves
            Sergey Monya        Former Player 
            Timofey Mozgov        Denver Nuggets 
            Alexey Shved        Minnesota Timberwolves
                     
    Spain        Jose Calderon        Toronto Raptors
            Victor Claver        Portland Trail Blazers
            Rudy Fernandez        Former Player 
            Marc Gasol        Memphis Grizzlies
            Pau Gasol        Los Angeles Lakers
            Serge Ibaka        Oklahoma City Thunder
            Juan Carlos Navarro        Former Player
            Sergio Rodriguez        Former Player

    USA        Carmelo Anthony        New York Knicks
            Kobe Bryant        Los Angeles Lakers
            Tyson Chandler        New York Knicks
            Anthony Davis        New Orleans Hornets
            Kevin Durant        Oklahoma City Thunder
            James Harden        Oklahoma City Thunder
            Andre Iguodala        Denver Nuggets
            LeBron James        Miami Heat
            Kevin Love        Minnesota Timberwolves
            Chris Paul        Los Angeles Clippers
            Russell Westbrook        Oklahoma City Thunder
            Deron Williams        Brooklyn Nets

    Photo: LA Times

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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