U.S. men’s basketball team member Khris Middleton is a household figure and will be one of several stars competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The 29-year-old, who stands at 2.01 metres, is one of 12 Americans competing in Tokyo for a seventh straight Olympic gold medal.
K. Middleton Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Kevin Durant, winner of two Olympic gold medals and four NBA titles, and Damian Lillard, a six-time NBA All-Star, are two of his teammates.
Special significance attaches to Middleton’s Olympic participation. The two-time NBA All-Star and his team, the Milwaukee Bucks, won the NBA title a little over a week ago.
His teammate Jrue Holiday and the Phoenix Suns’ lost finalist Devin Booker also showed up late to the Games in Japan’s capital.
Middleton hopes to make history by becoming the first player in NBA history to win an Olympic gold medal just weeks after lifting the NBA trophy.
Three-Time All-Star Khris Middleton Professional Basketball Player With Potential for Olympic Success
Middleton, who was born in Charleston, South Carolina, made waves on the basketball court as a high schooler. He played collegiate basketball for Texas A&M and declared for the 2012 NBA draught after his junior year.
While Middleton was the 29th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons, he didn’t get much playing time with the NBA team right away. Middleton’s development as a player did not completely begin until the shooting guard was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Middleton earned his first All-Star nod after a career year in 2018–19, when he helped the Bucks to the playoffs and won a division title under new head coach Mike Budenholzer.
After the season, Khris “Money” Middleton signed a five-year, $178 million contract extension with the Bucks, a fitting accomplishment given his nickname.
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Middleton was nominated for another All-Star Game this year after a season in which he excelled from beyond the arc. He concluded the year with a shooting percentage of 49.9 from the field, 41.8 from beyond the arc, and 90.9 from the charity stripe, putting him in the company of an elite group of only nine players known as the “50/40/90” club.
Also, this year, with his help, the Bucks won their second NBA title in franchise history, after 50 long years, beating the Phoenix Suns in four straight games.
Over the course of the NBA Finals, Middleton scored 24.0 points per game while also grabbing 6.3 boards and dishing out 5.3 assists per contest.
