Another Celtic is joining Team USA for the 2024 Olympics
Derrick White is joining the Team USA roster for the 2024 Olympics after Kawhi Leonard was removed due to injury.
Coming off of their NBA Championship win last month, some members of the Boston Celtics are already turning their attention to a different kind of ‘world championship’ at next month’s 2024 Olympics.
The initial roster for Team USA already included two Celtics players – Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday. That made the Celtics one of three teams with multiple players on the roster, along with the Los Angeles Lakers (LeBron James and Anthony Davis) and Phoenix Suns (Kevin Durant and Devin Booker).
As of Tuesday afternoon though, the Celtics now stand alone as Tatum and Holiday will have a third teammate joining them in Paris. According to multiple reports, Derrick White is joining the team in place of Kawhi Leonard, who withdrew due to injury.
With White added to the roster, the Celtics are the first NBA team with three Team USA members since the Golden State Warriors in 2016. The Oklahoma City Thunder also had three representatives in 2012.
This will be White’s first time participating in the Olympics, after being named a finalist for the roster in 2020. It won’t be his first international competition though – he played for the Team USA World Cup team in 2019 (Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and former Celtic Marcus Smart were also on that team).
White, 30, will now have a chance to add to what has already been an impressive summer. After playing a key role in the Celtics’ championship win, he signed a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension.
The addition of White was announced ahead of Team USA’s first game action – an exhibition game against Canada on Tuesday night. That will be the first of five exhibition games Team USA plays before Olympic Group Stage play begins on July 28. Team USA will play Serbia in the opener, then South Sudan (July 31) and Puerto Rico (August 3) during group play.
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Sporting events to watch at the Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics officially get underway at the end of July in Paris, France! This will be the 30th playing of the Summer Olympics, but technically the 33rd games. Three past Olympic games have been canceled through the years. This will also be the 2nd Olympics in 3 years due to the 2020 games being delayed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be the first Summer Olympics held in France since 1924 and the first overall since 1992. With the games so close, here is a list of events to keep an eye out for that are worth watching, especially for American sports fans!
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Both the men and women tournaments in the Olympics are worth watching but the women’s tournament is better. Why? Because the best players on the planet in the women’s game play in the tournament. On the other hand, the men’s tournament limits rosters to primarily players under-23 so it always lacks the star power we are used to seeing in the World Cup and other big national tournaments. For American fans this will be a big tournament when it comes to seeing how the struggling women’s national team can stack up with the world’s best under their new coach Emma Hayes.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
SAITAMA, JAPAN – AUGUST 07: Jayson Tatum #10 of Team United States signals to teammates during the first half of a Men’s Basketball Finals game between Team United States and Team France on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Saitama Super Arena on August 07, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
When it comes to the Olympics the men’s basketball tournament is better than the women’s. The United States should win the gold in both, but the men typically get more pushback from other top nations.
TENNIS
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 01: Gold medalist Alexander Zverev of Team Germany poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for Tennis Men’s Singles on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Tennis Park on August 01, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
If you’re a follower of tennis you’ll appreciate watching the tennis at the Olympics. And for the casual fans who have basically seen just three men win most of the grand slam titles over the last 20 years, things can be different at the Olympics. First, the big three of the men’s side are no longer as dominant (and one of them is retired), and secondly, the Olympic event is only three set matches instead of five, which can lead to more upsets. Both the men and women tournaments are worth watching in the Olympics.
GOLF
KAWAGOE, JAPAN – AUGUST 07: Nelly Korda of Team United States celebrates with the gold medal at the victory ceremony after the final round of the Women’s Individual Stroke Play on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club on August 07, 2021 in Kawagoe, Japan. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The golf in 2024 will be played at Le Golf National, which is a tremendous golf course. There’ll be big storylines for Americans on both sides as Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda look to continue their dominant 2024’s. Scheffler will be making his Olympic debut and Korda will be looking to defend the gold she won at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
TRACK AND FIELD
EUGENE, OREGON – JUNE 22: Sha’Carri Richardson crosses the finish line of the women’s 100 meter semi-final on Day Two of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field on June 22, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Most track events are worth the watch but I primarily mean the sprints here. You want a quick sporting event? Watch the 100m and 200m sprints. The event barely takes any time out of your day and it provides excitement. On the American side of things you’ll have women like Sha’carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone providing excitement in chases for gold medals!
SWIMMING
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 31: Katie Ledecky of Team USA poses with her two Gold and two Silver medals after a giving a press conference to the media during the Tokyo Olympic Games on July 31, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Much like some of the track and field events, swimming events can be exciting and fast to watch. It’s also worth watching one of the greatest swimmers of all time, Katie Ledecky, continue to make history.
GYMNASTICS
TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 03: Simone Biles of Team United States poses with the bronze medal following the Women’s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Have you ever sat down and watched someone do something that you could literally never do? That’s what watching gymnastics at the Olympics (or in general) is. These are some of the best athletes in the world continually pulling off stunts that 99% of the world never could. And also one of the greatest athletes ever in Simone Biles will be participating once again in 2024.
