TOKYO, Japan — For the first time since 1968, St. Louis has an Olympic gold medalist in men's basketball.
Chaminade grad and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum helped Team USA bring home the gold medal on Friday night with a 87 to 82 victory against France. Tatum had 19 points in the win.
The 23-year-old NBA star was one of the stars of the tournament for Team USA.
With the gold, Tatum becomes just the third-ever St. Louis area native to win gold in basketball at the Olympics (Bill Bradley and Jo Jo White), and the first since 1968 (White won in Mexico City).
Tatum was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in high school at Chaminade and a McDonald's All-American before deciding to play a year of college basketball at Duke.
Tatum was drafted No. 3 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Since he arrived in the NBA, Tatum has become a star. He's already a two-time All-Star (2020, 2021), and averaged a career-high 26.4 points in 2020-2021 with Boston.
Tatum has represented the United States on the basketball court in various capacities over the years, but this is his first Olympic team.