University of Connecticut Athletics
Former MBB Huskies Giffey, Edwards Headed For Olympics
7/5/2021 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / July 5, 2021
UConn men's basketball alumni Niels Giffey and Gavin Edwards will compete in the Tokyo Olympics later this month with the national teams of Germany and Japan, respectively.
Giffey and Edwards are the third and fourth former UConn men's basketball players to become Olympians, joining Ray Allen, who won a gold medal as part of Team USA in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and Emeka Okafor, who won a bronze medal with Team USA in 2004 in Athens, Greece.
Edwards and Giffey were never UConn teammates, but together they span eight straight years of UConn basketball, from 2006-2014, which include two NCAA Championships and three Final Four appearances.
Edwards, a physical 6-9 forward, was awarded the lone "naturalized" player spot on the Japanese team, which automatically was given a berth as the host team. Edwards has spent the last eight seasons playing professionally in Japan, the last four with the B League champion Chiba Jets. In the 2020-21 season. Edwards averaged 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and had a field goal percentage of 62.3 percent.
Edwards played at UConn from 2006-2010, helping the Huskies reach the Final Four in 2009. The Gilbert, Ariz., native played 123 games for UConn, with career totals of 631 points and 420 rebounds.
Giffey has played with Alba Berlin since the 2014-15 season, helping the team win the German Cup in 2020, and also with the German National Team. In 2020-21, he averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds. Last month, he signed a new contract with Zalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League and the Euroleague. Â
Giffey, originally from Berlin, is one of just three UConn men's basketball players (also Shabazz Napier, Tyler Olander) who have won two NCAA championships (2011, 2014). The 6-5 guard-forward, who ranks third all-time in UConn games played (139), had career totals of 640 points and 354 rebounds, and ranks behind only Ray Allen and Ben Gordon in all-time three-point field goal percentage (42.1 percent).
The Olympic basketball tournament includes 12 teams divided into three groups and will run from July 25 through Aug. 7 with all games held in Saitama, Japan.
Giffey's German team, making its first Olympic appearance since 2008, is in Group B with Australia, Nigeria and Italy and will open play against Italy on July 25.
Edwards' Japanese team, in the Olympics for the first time since 1976, is part of Group C with Argentina, Spain and Slovenia. Japan begins the competition against Spain on July 26.
