University of Georgia Athletics
Edwards Joins Fleming With Olympic Gold
August 11, 2024 | General, Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Forty years after Vern Fleming became the first Georgia men's basketball player to win an Olympic gold medal, Anthony Edwards became the second Saturday night in Paris.
Edwards, the 2020 SEC Freshman of the Year in his one collegiate season before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, scored eight points off the bench for Team USA in the gold-medal game against France. Edwards hit two first-half 3-pointers, later threw down an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Kevin Durant, and finished 3 of 7 from the field in nine minutes of action as the Americans held off a determined French squad, 98-87.
The youngest player on the U.S. team at 23, Edwards averaged 16.3 minutes per game during the American's six-game undefeated run to a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. He scored a team-high 26 in the win over Puerto Rico, in just 17 minutes, and scored 17 points in 21 minutes against Brazil. Over the six games, Edwards averaged 12.8 points on 58% shooting.
Edwards was on the bench at the end of the game Saturday, with a great view of Stephen Curry's gold-sealing heroics. Curry hit four 3s during a two-minute stretch, including a spectacular fall-away bomb over a pair of defenders with 35 seconds left.
"He went crazy," the charismatic and quotable Edwards told reporters afterward of Curry's barrage.
In 1984, Fleming was the starting point guard on the Team USA squad at the Los Angeles Olympics, playing alongside the likes of Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Sam Perkins. All American Olympians were amateurs back then, so the U.S. team, coached by Bobby Knight, was made up of the top college stars.
Fleming and the U.S. men cruised to the gold medal, outscoring their opponents 763-506 over the eight games. Jordan was the star, of course, leading the team with 17.1 points per game. Fleming averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
"My uniform, my jersey and shorts, my home and away ones, are up in a trophy room I've got in my house, with the gold medal," Fleming said earlier this year.Â
Fleming scored 1,777 during his great Georgia career (1981-84), which included the Bulldogs' run to the 1983 Final Four. He lives in Indianapolis, where he starred for the Pacers during his long NBA career.
Of course, Fleming wasn't the only Bulldog to win gold inside Pauley Pavilion in 1984. Teresa Edwards was already a Georgia All-American when she was invited to try out for the U.S. women's team, but she was only 20 years old — and she didn't think she could beat out the other guards to make the team. Her coach, Andy Landers, convinced her otherwise.
"Coach was the right man, chosen at the right time, to make that moment happen for me," Edwards said in 2020, "because I would not have come close to being a five-time Olympian if we hadn't had that conversation."
Teresa Edwards made the team, and like Anthony Edwards, she was the youngest member and more of a cheerleader on the bench than a star on the floor. Still, she'd earned her gold medal. And Teresa Edwards, who led the Lady Bulldogs to two Final Fours and whose 653 career assists from 1982-86 are still No. 1 all-time at Georgia, went on to earn three more, as well as a bronze. Teresa Edwards and former Georgia teammate Katrina McClain were the stars of the U.S. team's run to the 1988 gold medal in Seoul.
A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, Teresa Edwards is one of the greatest women's basketball players ever — and a five-time Olympian. Anthony Edwards is 23, has one Olympic gold already, and the 2028 Games are in Los Angeles. More gold medals could be in the very bright future for the two-time NBA All-Star.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
