Utah Jazz past Olympians

The following are Olympic basketball players who have played in past Summer Games — or will be playing in the upcoming Beijing Games — while part of the Utah Jazz franchise:

• Jose Ortiz — Sandwiching a season-plus (1988-90) with the Jazz between his extensive pro career in Spain, the Jazz's 1987 first-round draft pick first played in the Olympics for his native Puerto Rico in the 1988 Seoul Games. He returned to play in the '92, '96 and '04 Olympics.

• Karl Malone — One half of the Jazz's Dream Team duo, Malone picked up two gold medals on star-studded U.S. Olympic teams — at the 1992 Barcelona Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games.

• John Stockton — Joined Malone in winning gold in both '92 and '96 (see above). Interestingly, both Stockton and Malone were among the 72 collegians invited by then-coach Bobby Knight for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials camp, but neither made the final cut.

• Andrei Kirilenko — Although he played with CSKA Moscow for the first two seasons after being picked No. 24 by Utah in the 1999 NBA Draft, Kirilenko was Jazz property when he played for Russia in the 2000 Sydney Games. After leading Russia to the '07 European Championships title and a Beijing berth, Kirilenko will be returning to the Olympics after an eight-year absence.

• Carlos Arroyo — After bouncing around the NBA and Spain for a couple of seasons, the Puerto Rican native joined the Jazz as a Stockton backup for the 2003-04 season and, following Stockton's retirement, became Utah's starting point guard the next season before being traded to the Pistons mid-season the following year. At the 2004 Athens Games, Arroyo carried the national flag in the opening ceremonies and then scored 24 points to lead Puerto Rico to a stunning upset over the United States.

• Carlos Boozer — A month after bolting from two seasons with the Cavaliers to sign a lucrative, long-term deal with the Jazz, Boozer made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games as a reserve on Team USA. The Americans finished 5-3 en route to the bronze medal — the three losses were one more than all the previous U.S. defeats in Olympic history. But Boozer is seeking gold-medal redemption, having been selected as one of the three big men on the '08 U.S. Olympic roster.

• Deron Williams — With the parallels begging comparisons to Stockton and Malone, first-time Olympian Williams will join Boozer as the Jazz's point-forward tandem at the 2008 Beijing Games.

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