Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been the driving force behind Team USA’s success at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He cemented that on Thursday by helping lead the United States to a massive fourth-quarter comeback against Serbia to lock in their place in the gold medal game against Victor Wembanyama and host France on Saturday.
James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were instrumental on Thursday, but have been collectively impressive throughout the games. Despite being the three oldest players on Team USA, they have shown that they’re not ready to cede the reigns of the game to the younger generation.
The Lakers star spoke about what has been the best part of moments like Thursday’s win against Serbia, knowing that his time playing competitive basketball has become extremely limited, according to BasketNews:
“It’s up there. I’m 39 years old, it’s my 22nd season. I don’t know how many opportunities and moments I’m going to get like this to be able to compete for something, to be able to compete for something big and playing big games. And tonight was a big game,” he said about the incredible matchup against Serbia.
James would love to have more chances at competitive games with the Lakers, but the team has been beyond the first round of the postseason only one time since their 2020 championship. This year’s Lakers look to be around the same place as last season, when they lost in five games in the first round.
This means that Saturday’s gold medal game against the host country of France could be one of James’ final chances to be in a championship game before he eventually calls it a career. If Team USA wins, it’ll add even more hardware to one of the most impressive collections of accolades in the history of basketball.
LeBron James: Stephen Curry chose perfect time to erupt
While LeBron James was the leader for Team USA’s comeback over Serbia, it was Stephen Curry who led the way on the box score with a dominant 36 points. James said that it was only a matter of time before the struggling Curry had one of his classic superstar outings.
It came at the right time, helping the United States get past a Serbia scare and secure at least a silver medal in Paris in what is likely to be the final go-around for all three of James, Curry and Durant.
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