Tokyo Olympics: Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton join exclusive club to win NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year

Benyam Kidane

Tokyo Olympics: Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton join exclusive club to win NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year image

What a couple of weeks for Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. 

Just 17 days after lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy with the Milwaukee Bucks, the duo added an Olympic gold medal to their trophy cabinet after Team USA edged France 87-82 to win the country's fourth-straight men's gold medal. 

TAKEAWAYS: Durant scores 29 PTS to power USA to gold medal

Holiday and Middleton are just the fifth and sixth players to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year, joining Scottie Pippen (1992, 1996), Michael Jordan (1992), LeBron James (2012) and Kyrie Irving (2016).

The duo are the first teammates to achieve the feat since Pippen and Jordan did so with the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, following their championship-winning run with the Chicago Bulls. 

"He's awesome man," Holiday said of Middleton post-game.

"He's an NBA champion, he's an Olympic gold medal winner, he's my brother, you know. Us over these last few months it's been crazy and we've done it together, so I wouldn't want to share with anybody else." 

Holiday not only picks up his first Olympic gold medal but the third in his family, with his wife Lauren winning gold with the USA women's soccer team at Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

When it comes to bragging rights at home, Holiday says he still has some ways to go.

"No I don't...my wife has two gold medals."

Meanwhile, center JaVale McGee created some history of his own after winning Olympic gold, becoming the first mother and son duo to win Olympic gold. 

His mother Pamela won gold for the USA women's basketball team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

McGee's trophy cabinet is reaching legendary status, with his gold medal joining his three NBA championships (2017, 2018, 2020), all coming in the past five years. 

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.