The U.S. men’s basketball team has made a habit of supporting U.S. swimmers while they’re at the Olympics and this year is no different. In the past, players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony showed out at events in Beijing and London.
This year Kyle Lowry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan joined Durant to cheer on their Team USA teammates. And, man, did they pick the right night. The U.S. won three events on the night, with big names like Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Ryan Lochte taking home gold.
You might think accomplished NBA superstars would be above joining the fray to celebrate, but nope, they were right there whooping it up along with everyone else.
Not only do the U.S. players clearly enjoy taking in the show, but the swimmers don’t seem to mind their support. The USA basketball stars were seen chatting it up with Phelps and co. after the event.
“I was in the owner’s box at a Wizards game and I was sitting right in front of him and there’s actually footage of him playing peek-a-boo with me,” Ledecky told NBCOlympics.com back in November.
Conor Dwyer, a part of the 4x200m freestyle relay team that won gold and himself an individual bronze medalist at these Games, grew up outside of Chicago playing ball with Jordan’s kids.
“I got to have sleepovers at the Jordan household,” Dwyer said in November. “Michael would be there watching me play basketball, which was kind of weird watching the best basketball player of all time watching me play hoops and I wasn’t that good, but it was fun to hang out with those guys and be around some of the best aspiring athletes in the world.”
While they spent the night rubbing elbows with Olympic champions tonight, the men of USA basketball will have to wait for their shot at gold.