Utah Jazz players win two Olympic medals in Tokyo 2020

International flags. Photo: Vadislav Klapin

TOKYO, Japan. — Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz brings bronze to his Team Australia in the Tokyo, 2020 Olympic Games. With a final score of 107 – 93, the Aussies relegated Team Slovenia to fourth in the tournament which was a big-picture, Olympic sweet revenge for the Jazz’s and Aussie’s Ingles after his fellow countrymen had placed fourth in Olympic play four times. The six NBA players on Team Australia had had their country play more Olympic appearances than any other nation at 15 before this, their first medal.

Point guard Ingles made sure it was a dominated performance by his team from Australia. Though they never played each other in Tokyo, his Utah NBA teammate, Rudy Gobert had won a silver against gold-medal winning Team USA representing France hours earlier today in a consistently closer 87 – 82 game. 

In Slovenia’s first Olympic appearance their, Dallas Maverick star, Luka Doncic, called the 22-year-old, “The best player in the world,” by the female NBC commentator had, earlier in the brackets, only the third Olympic triple-double after a Russian athlete Alexander Belov and Team USA’s LeBron James in previous summer Games. 

If Salt Lake City is successful in its Host City bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2032 winter Games, as multiple mayors meet tonight to discuss at the Utah Olympic Park, Ingles could be seeing double as his native nation has just been awarded the honor for hosting the 2034 summer Games in Brisbane.

Ingles was the first to put points on the board with the initial bucket of the game. Australia lead Slovenia 20-19 in the first with ten minutes until the end of the ten-minute quarter. A one-point game with 2:15 left in first. but then a 10 – 0 run by Slovenia put them ahead 3, but then it was back to a one-point game with 1:15 to got in first.

Tied at 28 with 7:14 to go in the second, by halftime, the Aussies were up 53 – 45. Patty Mills shot an outstanding 30 points for Australia as they got the biggest lead of the game in the third at 52 – 64 with 4:46 to go.

Australia was up 67 -78 going into the final quarter.

Next week, Doncic, a small forward, is slated to re-up with the Mavs for four additional years. Slovenia is the smallest country, per capita with approximately two million residents, to qualify to play in the Olympic basketball tournament since 1936.

Utah’s All-Star Donovan Mitchell respectfully declining Team USA’s international invitation citing certain pandemic uncertainties meant that no Jazz athletes represented Team USA in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.