Joe Ingles is coming off the sort of disappointment with the Utah Jazz that perhaps only an Olympic medal could soothe.
Ingles, runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man Award in the 2020-21 season, could not prevent the top-seeded Jazz losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the playoffs.
He scored 19 points in three successive games against the Clippers but twice in a losing cause, meaning a season that he packed with career-bests ended on a painful note.
Ingles is now chasing gold with Australia at Tokyo 2020, with an opening game against Nigeria scheduled for Sunday.
Australia have never won an Olympic medal in men's basketball, finishing fourth on four occasions, most recently at Rio 2016.
They were also fourth at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but Ingles says the time has come to get hold of a medal.
Gold is the obvious target, and when Ingles was asked whether silver or bronze would be a disappointment, his verdict was that anything but top step on the podium would feel like a letdown, at least initially.
"In the moment, yeah; in the long run, no," he said. "We don't talk about anything else – there's one goal in mind and that's to win a gold medal in Tokyo.
"If we wait and look 10 years down the track we'll think different but we're here to make history."
Australia's women have fared better on the big stage, winning three Olympic silvers and two bronze medals.
Ingles had an NBA career-best 34 points against the Washington Wizards in March, while in January he passed John Stockton to set a new Jazz record for the most three-pointers in a career with the franchise. Stockton made 845 and Ingles is now on 993.
He set career highs in field-goal percentage (48.9 per cent), three-point success rate (45.1 per cent) and free-throw hit rate (84.4 per cent) in the regular season, along with a points-per-game average of 12.1 that matched his 2018-19 best.
Now the 33-year-old small forward heads into his fourth Olympics seeking that elusive medal, and a familiar face in Brian Goorjian is leading the team.
Coach Goorjian was in charge of Australia when Ingles made his Games debut in 2008 at Beijing, and he returned to the role in November of last year.
"He's a lot older. We're both a lot older," Ingles said. "So awesome to have him back.
"I was interested to see if there would be any differences in him. He moves a bit slower and his fingers are a bit more busted up but he's the same coach."
Aces star Wilson has first 1,000-point season in WNBA
A'ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a season in the Las Vegas Aces' 84-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Wilson finished with 29 points and reached the 1,000-point mark on a pull-up jumper with two minutes remaining.
Wilson's latest milestone came just four days after she established the WNBA single-season scoring record, breaking the mark of 939 points set by Jewell Lloyd in 2023.
The Aces have won seven of eight games and own a one-game lead over the Seattle Storm for the No. 4 seed in the play-offs and home-court advantage in that series.
Wilson wasn't the only WNBA star with a memorable performance on Sunday, as Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 35 points in the Indiana Fever's 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings.
Clark also added eight assists and combined with Kelsey Mitchell to hit 12 of Indiana's 16 3-pointers.
Clark has already established a WNBA rookie record with 761 points, and her 329 assists are the most by any player in a single season in league history.
England and Australia series drawn as third T20I washed out
England's T20I series with Australia ended in a draw after Sunday's scheduled third match at Old Trafford was washed out.
Australia won the first T20I comfortably in Southampton on Wednesday, only for the hosts to level things up with a three-wicket triumph in Cardiff on Friday.
However, there was to be no decider on Sunday as heavy rain continued throughout the day in Manchester, with the match abandoned following an afternoon pitch inspection.
Both teams' attention will now switch to the first of their five ODI meetings, which is scheduled for Trent Bridge on Thursday.
England captain Jos Buttler will again be absent for the ODIs, having failed to recover from a right calf injury.
Harry Brook will lead the team in his absence, just 18 months on from his first England appearance in the format.
After the match at Trent Bridge, the teams will face off at Headingley, Durham, Lord's and Bristol, with the final encounter taking place on September 29.
Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both scored penalties as Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad 2-0 at the Reale Arena.
Carlo Ancelotti's side moved to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who visit fifth-place Girona on Sunday.
Already without the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid suffered another injury blow in the 24th minute when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue.
After a goalless first half, the visitors broke through 13 minutes after the restart with Vinicius slotting home from 12 yards after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler's shot.
Vinicus was then felled for Madrid's second penalty, which was awarded following a VAR review, with Mbappe making no mistake in sealing all three points.
Data Debrief: Madrid extend unbeaten streak
Extending their unbeaten LaLiga streak to 37 matches, Madrid have now won four successive away league games against Basque opposition for the first time since a run of four such victories between 2011 and 2013.
By contrast, Sociedad have now suffered four straight home defeats in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2007.
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