Damian Lillard becomes 1st former Weber State athlete to win Olympic gold medal
United States guard Damian Lillard (6) drives to the basket over France's Rudy Gobert during the 2020 Summer Olympics men's basketball gold medal game Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan.
The U.S. men's basketball team poses for photos with their gold medals during the medal ceremony at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
When Damian Lillard comes to Ogden in two weeks for the fourth Weber State Basketball Alumni Classic, he’ll come as a gold medalist.
Though he’s been gone from Weber State for nearly 10 years, Lillard made one more entry into WSU athletics history Friday night in Tokyo when the U.S. men’s basketball team defeated France 87-82 in the Summer Games tournament final, making Lillard the first former Weber State athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.
Eric Gay, Associated Press
United States guard Damian Lillard poses with teammates for photos with their gold medals during the men’s basketball medal ceremony at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, in Saitama, Japan.
As only the third former Weber State athlete to compete in the Olympics, he’s the second to win a medal.
Former WSU track decathlete and Roy High alum Bill Schuffenhauer is the other medalist, winning silver for the U.S. in the four-man bobsled at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Lindsey Anderson, a Morgan High alum, is the third Olympian, making the U.S. team for Beijing 2008 and running in the women’s steeplechase.
Lillard scored 11 points in the gold-medal game, including a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter.
In the fourth, after France cut it to 73-70, Lillard hit a pull-up jumper and a twisting corner 2 on an out-of-bounds play, then had a drive-and-kick assist to Jayson Tatum for a 3-pointer during a run that put the U.S. up 82-72 with 3:20 left.
According to a report from NBA insider Shams Charania, Lillard played through an abdomen injury at the Olympics.
Kevin Durant nearly scored 30 points in three consecutive gold-medal games, netting 29 Friday night and clearly the player of the tournament for the United States, who won gold for a fourth consecutive Games.
Lillard
Lillard’s best game during these Olympics came in a group-stage win over Iran when he shot 7 of 13 from the 3-point line and totaled 21 points and five assists in 23 minutes.
Lillard’s WSU alumni classic starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20, at the Dee Events Center. Tickets are $7 general admission.
The Utah Jazz had two players win medals. Rudy Gobert helped anchor France’s silver-medal effort and Joe Ingles won bronze with Australia, his nation’s first-ever medal in men’s basketball. Patty Mills scored 42 points and dished nine assists in the bronze-medal game as Australia defeated Luka Doncic and Slovenia 107-93.