The 2016 Summer Olympics have come and gone, and for the third consecutive time the USA Men’s Basketball Team took home the gold medal, defeating rival Spain in the semi-final game and Serbia in the gold medal game.
Spain, who was once again led by former Los Angeles Lakers great Pau Gasol, won the bronze medal in the tournament. Recently acquired Lakers point guard Jose Calderon was a member of the the Spanish team for the fourth consecutive Olympics and for the third consecutive time he received a medal.
The 34-year-old did not receive much playing time, as he was behind Sergio Rodriguez, Ricky Rubio and Sergio Llull on the depth chart. He played just 25 minutes in the entire tournament. It appears that this was the last time Calderon will appear on the Spanish National Team, as according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports Calderon is retiring from the team:
Veteran point guard Jose Calderon has officially announced his retirement from Spanish NT.
Calderon can add this year’s bronze medal from Rio to the two silver’s he received in Beijing and London. He has also won one World Cup, one European Championship as well as three medals at the European Championships (two silver medals and one bronze).
Los Angeles acquired Calderon along with two second round picks in a trade with the Chicago Bulls earlier this offseason. Last season with the New York Knicks he averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. In his 13-year NBA career he’s averaged 9.9 points and 6.5 assists per game.
With D’Angelo Russell set to start at point guard, Calderon will be battling with Brazil-native Marcelo Huertas for the backup role. Huertas averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 assists in his first NBA season with the Lakers last year.
