Players who won NBA title and Olympic gold medal the same year

"Every time they see me, they say, 'What's up, champ?' It's definitely good to hear that from your peers," Team USA member Jayson Tatum told Andscape ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Fresh off his NBA title victory, Tatum is trying to join an exclusive list of players who hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy and captured an Olympic gold medal in the same year. Two of his Celtics teammates —Jrue Holiday and Derrick White — are on the Team USA squad gunning for the same honor. 

Here, we recap players who achieved the "double-double" of basketball glory in the same year.

Michael Jordan (1992)

The GOAT was fresh off his 1992 NBA Finals MVP performance over the Trail Blazers when he joined the original Dream Team in Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics. After averaging 35.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds against Portland, Jordan adjusted his style to FIBA rules and dominated other facets of the game, averaging an incredible 4.1 steals through Team USA's six wins. As is well documented, the Dream Team crushed its opponents by an average margin of 43.8 points en route to the gold medal.

Scottie Pippen (1992)

Jordan's running mate had one of his best NBA Finals performances against the Blazers, averaging 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists. Besides being Chicago's primary playmaker, Pippen excelled in clamping down on Clyde Drexler, holding Portland's star player to 40% shooting through six games. His playmaking skills translated to Barcelona as he led Team USA in assists (5.9) — averaging more dimes than Magic Johnson — as he continued to showcase his all-around skillset on the world stage.

LeBron James (2012)

A year after his meltdown against the Mavericks, James got the monkey off his back by capturing his maiden NBA title in the 2012 NBA Finals versus the Thunder. "The King" took his newfound confidence into the 2012 London Olympics and likely got showered with the similar "What's up, champ" greetings that Tatum is experiencing this year. James was used as a traditional small forward by coach Mike Krzyzewski, being asked to defend the wings and play off of Chris Paul, who handled ball-handling duties. James was third in points but led Team USA in assists with 5.6.  

Kyrie Irving (2016)

The ball-handling maestro was fresh off one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history when he crushed the Warriors in Game 7 at Oracle. With stalwarts James, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all sitting out the 2016 Rio Olympics, it was Irving's time to shine, and he did. Through eight games, Irving led Team USA in assists (4.9) and was third in points (11.4), shedding off the "selfish" tag that had followed him through his career by allowing Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Klay Thompson and Paul George to all attempt more field goals than him. Irving described the experience of playing under Coach K as "a dream come true." 

Holiday and Khris Middleton (2021)

Holiday and Khris Middleton also achieved the "double-double" when they captured the NBA championship with the Bucks in 2021 before winning gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, since those Olympics were delayed by a year (from 2020 to 2021), the history books still recognize them as the 2020 Olympics gold medalists. As such, they don't technically qualify for this list. 

For what it's worth, Holiday could become only the second player to achieve the "double-double" of basketball glory on two occasions. Wouldn't that be a feather in his growing Hall of Fame resume?