USA basketball team, the governing body of the sport of basketball has announced its partnership with UCLA. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a world-class healthcare system. Both organizations have shaken hands for multiyear partnerships. UCLA is assigned as the official physician for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Olympic games. 

“We are thrilled to join USA Basketball as their official team physicians,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. “As a leader in health care with local, national, and international reach, our experts aim to ensure that the teams have the support they need to achieve success at the highest level of competition.”

The motive of this partnership revolves around UCLA Health providing first-class orthopedic and sports medical care to USA Basketball’s team. They will also ensure that the players are physically fit to compete.

UCLA Health will provide physician coverage for the men’s and women’s basketball national teams at the next two Olympic Games and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cups. They will also provide support at training camps as well as for the USA Basketball men’s and women’s junior national team program.

UCLA will work as a figure of guidance for the young athletes in the USA. They have partnered with USA Basketball’s Women in the Game initiative. It will help in educating high school girls, college women, and young professionals about career paths in the sports industry. It will enhance and discover the talent within young women for sports. They will help to understand the scope of the sport better. 

“We’re honored to extend our orthopedic and sports medicine expertise to support USA Basketball,” said Dr. Nicholas Bernthal, chair and executive medical director of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UCLA Health. 

“Our experience with top professional and collegiate athletes in Los Angeles, including the Lakers, Dodgers, Sparks, and UCLA Athletics, makes us primed to help USA Basketball optimize their performance on the global stage. We look forward to both providing best-in-class clinical care and partnering to innovate in sports science to develop tomorrow’s treatments,” he added.

The Assigned Physicians For USA Basketball 

Five UCLA Health sports medicine physicians — Calvin Duffaut, MD; Sharon Hame, MD; Kristofer Jones, MD; Thomas Kremen, MD, and Daniel Vigil, MD, will be team doctors for the United States men’s and women’s basketball squads when athletes convene on the world stage in Paris in late July. 

Dr. Jones will serve as the lead physician. He is the head team physician for the Los Angeles Lakers and a team physician for the UCLA Bruins. He brings a lot of experience and expertise as a physician and an intercollegiate athlete. He has previously managed the health and performance of elite athletes as well. 

“Getting to know the athletes during training and getting a sense of their past injury history will be extremely important as we work to optimize their performance level following a grueling NBA season,” he said. 

“Many of the players on the USA team participated in the playoffs, so they faced a short time to rest and recover from the season before embarking upon international competition. NBA players are some of the most well-conditioned athletes on the planet and genetically predisposed to maintain a high fitness level, so our goal as the medical team is simply to help them stay on ‘cruise control’ since their activity will now carry over into the off-season,” he added.

Dr. Hame, who is the head team physician for the Los Angeles Sparks and team physician for the Bruin football, women’s basketball, women’s indoor and beach volleyball, and men’s tennis teams, has a unique connection to the spectacle. 

Each physician will contribute their distinct backgrounds as former athletes and experienced sports medicine specialists to their roles on the global stage. Their shared experiences in caring for professional athletes across different sports have refined their abilities in diagnosing, treating, and preventing injuries.