They are the only players to win gold medals in both 3×3 and 5×5 basketball.

Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum made history in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with incredible feats. According to Sporting News, they are the only athletes to have won gold in both 3×3 and 5×5 basketball.

1936 saw the introduction of basketball to the Olympic program. A new dimension to basketball has been added in recent years with the development of 3×3 basketball, a fast-paced, half-court variety. The women’s 3×3 squad from squad USA, which included WNBA players Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Alisha Gray, and Stephanie Dolson, won the first gold medal in this format at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The exciting continuation of their adventure was experienced during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

From 3×3 Glory to 5×5 Triumph 

Despite Plum, Young, and her 3×3 teammates exerting great effort to win the gold for the United States, the team was unsuccessful. Spain won silver, Germany won gold, and the United States took home the bronze. For the second time the style of play was adopted in the Olympics, that is rather fantastic. However, the tale did not stop there.

The 5×5 team, which featured the indomitable Plum and Young of the Las Vegas Aces, put on an incredible show. Team USA overcame a frightening 10-point deficit in the third quarter to pull off an exciting 67-66 triumph against France in a gold medal match.

Despite only scoring two points in the championship game, Young demonstrated her talents by playing a significant role in the knockout stages. The team’s triumph was largely due to her 9.5 points per game average over the tournament and her outstanding efforts early in the competition.

The Dynamic Aces bring their US-A game to Paris

The historical dual goal medals won by Young and Plum attest to their skill and adaptability in both the 3×3 and 5×5 forms. No other athlete has won gold in both forms, despite Japanese player Stephanie Mawuli competing in both.

Nonetheless, high-pressure situations are nothing new to the two-star Las Vegas WNBA players. During Plum’s career, he broke the NCAA record for most points in a season, was selected as a WNBA All-Star, and the Aces are likely headed for a three-peat. The “Plum Dawg” obviously brought her best to Paris. Her power and dedication to the sport were demonstrated by her critical efforts in the 3x and 5x competitions.

Cheers, everyone. After the games on Sunday, Plum tweeted, “I’ve been through too much this year not to smile.”

Young, on the other hand, has been a defensive force from her time as a Notre Dame student. Young, also known as The Silent Assassin, has emerged as one of the WNBA’s most formidable guards because to her all-around skill set. She didn’t score the most in the championship game, but she was essential to the team’s victory.

The American women’s basketball team achieved a significant feat at the 2024 Games as well, winning its eighth straight gold medal and solidifying its supremacy. The gold medal matches between the United States and France in both the women’s and men’s divisions, a historic first in Olympic history, made the Paris Olympics especially noteworthy.

Together with All-Stars A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray, Plum and Young were ready to make an impression in the Olympics and beyond, securing their place in the annals of sports history.

Wilson, Brittney Griner, Gray, Naphessa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Alyssa Thomas of the USA basketball team shared their aspirations for their basketball careers after the game. They did, however, acknowledge that before they were chosen to compete for their country in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, they had never envisioned this unique victory moment. Through the WNBA’s Instagram account, Plum and Young, teammates of the Aces, shared a funny reaction to the memorable occasion.