JaVale McGee Wins Olympic Gold With USA Basketball in Tokyo

JaVale McGee is an Olympic champion. The plant-based center won gold with USA Basketball in Saitama on Saturday, August 7, as the Americans held off France 87-82 to take the men's title at the Tokyo Games.

Kevin Durant led the way with 29 points and joined Carmelo Anthony as the only men to win three Olympic basketball golds. McGee did his job off the bench, appearing in four of the team's six games and averaging 6.3 points while making 10 of his 13 shots, according to the University of Nevada, where he played his college basketball.

The medal also makes family history. McGee's mother Pamela won gold with the US women's team at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and the Associated Press reports that they are the first mother and son to both win Olympic gold in US history.

It's an amazing feeling, man. I've got a gold medal. My mother has a gold medal. We're the first to do it, mother-son duo. It's an amazing feeling. You can't really explain it. Just knowing you're the best in the world, amazing, man.

The gold sits alongside his three NBA championship rings. McGee switched to a plant-based diet in 2016 and has been one of the league's loudest voices for it ever since. In 2019 he became the first major league athlete to sign with vegan nutrition brand Vega, telling VegNews: "Following a plant-based diet has led to an enormous improvement in my performance as an athlete." He has also said the diet helps him "get up and down the court", which is no small thing for a seven-footer.

We've followed McGee's plant-powered career for a while. He won his second straight NBA championship with Golden State in 2018 and a third ring with the Lakers last year. Fellow plant-based star Chris Paul led Phoenix to his first NBA Finals just weeks ago.

Powered by plants, and now an Olympic champion.