Winning gold in basketball for Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics made a huge impact on Napheesa Collier that he already dreams of repeating this feat at Paris 2024.
“Of course, that’s the goal,” Collier said of defending his title in an interview with Olympics.com on Wednesday at the Jr. Clinic. The NBA in Paris, which is part of the official Youth Basketball Participation Program for the 2023 NBA Paris Game.
“I was at the last Olympic Games; it was my first and i want to keep doing this for as long as i’m playing so i hope you see me here.”
He can also count on a special guest in the audience.
Collier, who plays in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx, gave birth to her first child, Mila, in May 2022.
She returned for four games at the end of the 2022 season and is now preparing for her first full season as a mum.
“I’m probably not ready or prepared yet, but I’m really excited,” Collier said. “It’s so funny to see [Mila] to grow up and be around my teammates, so I’m happy again.”
WNBA action is set to kick off in May, but Collier expects the off-season to bring more excitement, in addition to the recent news of the two-time Olympic champion’s retirement Maya Moore and thriving trade Jonquel Jones to Liberty, New York.
“I’m really enjoying it,” Collier said of Moore’s retirement. The two played together as part of the Lynx.
“It seems that she has found her calling in life. Because she is an amazing basketball player, we will miss her on the court, I think what she does off the court is much more important.”
She later added, “I think it’s going to be a really exciting off-season. I think we’re going to see a lot of big moves, so it’s fun to watch stuff like that. I hope there aren’t too many people going to New York otherwise it will be scary, but I can’t wait to see what happens.
And no matter what happens, Paris awaits in 2024.
“Hanging this gold medal around the neck is just indescribable,” Collier said, “So I hope we can feel that here as well.”
