We were still reeling from yesterday’s legendary Olympic performance from Team USA Men’s Basketball while the women’s squad just came up clutch in a nail-biter of their own! 🏀 

Today we’re talking all-things gold 🥇 

Today’s Lineup

🥇 Your chances of winning a medal

Winning an Olympic gold medal is the crowning achievement for nearly any athlete. But statistically how improbable is it? 🤔 

Out of the millions of young athletes across the U.S., only about 3.5% will even make it to the high school basketball court–and as our mom reminds us, that is already something to be proud of! 

The best of the best enter collegiate hoops, where there are 34,500 players across the NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA divisions. But the leap to the NBA is another world entirely, where size, athleticism and skill are taken to the nth degree. Only 0.0003% of the U.S. population ever donning an NBA jersey. 

Now, think about the odds of being one of the 12 players chosen to represent the Stars and Stripes 🇺🇸 and then going on to win gold—a feat so rare that only 0.0001% of Americans have ever achieved it. And to those born outside the US hoping to win gold… go watch some Manu Ginobili Olympics film.

Oftentimes we forget just how extraordinary even the least impactful pros are on a squad, but there are all beyond exceptional. Hats off to Team USA and every Olympian! 🎉 

 📱 Tweets worth a gold medal

Team USA’s roster is stacked with 12 of the best hoopers in the world, and they earned gold accordingly. But what some forgot was that they also have some of the best social media users in the world 😅

Kevin “burner phone” Durant loves him some Twitter, and went viral for roasting fans on the website as early as 5 IN THE MORNING immediately after winning a gold medal in Paris. Truly generational trolling from one of the greatest to ever do it 🐐 

Tyrese Haliburton played the fewest minutes of anyone on Team USA during the Olympics, but never faltered in celebrating his teammates. Hell, bro got paid to visit Paris, practice with his hoop idols, and win a gold medal. We’d be cheesing too 😄 Even when holding up his medal, Tyrese took the opportunity to laugh at himself and celebrate the team. Never change, Hali! 😂 

It’s time for a feel-good story. The NBA launched an inspiring project called "Nets for Change," turning abandoned fishing nets into basketball nets, while also nurturing a passion for the game among young female players in India.

India’s coasts are littered with discarded fishing nets 🎣 which not only harm marine life but also make up 80% of India’s marine waste. At the same time, many basketball courts across the country sit unused, holding untapped potential, especially for young girls who dream of playing the game 💭 

"Nets for Change" tackles both these issues by recycling fishing nets into basketball hoops, helping reduce pollution in the environment while giving more girls a chance to shine on the court. India 🇮🇳 recently passed China 🇨🇳 as the most populous country on earth, and we hope our game spreads as deeply in India—for everybody—as it has done in the NBA’s second largest market!

Signing Off

We’ll step off our podium, but invite you to join us back here tomorrow morning for our regular newsletter! As always, y’all are our ride-or-dies and we couldn’t be more grateful 🙏 

-Conor Geelan