Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was the best player in the world over the last two weeks at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He led Team USA to their fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball, defeating Victor Wembanyama and France in the gold medal game.
The 2024 Olympic roster for Team USA was a true 12-deep. James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were the leaders and the team’s best players for much of the tournament, but they received contributions from nearly everyone. Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday all had massive moments while Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Anthony Edwards provided superstar depth.
This group immediately goes into the pantheon of some of the all-time great United States men’s Olympic basketball rosters, alongside the 1992 Dream Team and 2008 Redeem Team. And James had an apt nickname when describing the 2024 roster, via TheHoopCentral:
“There’s the dream team, the redeem team. What’s this team?”
LeBron: “The Avengers.”
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 11, 2024
The Avengers is absolutely a fitting name for such a talented group. James, Curry and Durant alone made up an incredible trio that elevated the team at every moment. But to have such NBA superstars like Booker, Davis and Adebayo serving as role players shows exactly how much talent was in Paris.
The 2028 roster is still expected to be a favorite to win gold, but it’s unclear if it will be a team this deep and talented representing the United States. When essentially all 12 players are All-Star caliber, it’s a sign of an elite roster.
LeBron James unlikely to play in 2028 Olympics
Team USA has now won five straight Olympic gold medals, and they surely won’t want that streak to come to an end in 2028 when they will host the games in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately though, a number of the key contributors from the 2024 team may be too old by the time 2028 rolls around. At 39 years of age, LeBron James is chief among them as he has already contemplated retirement despite still playing at an exceptional level.
When asked about the possibility of representing his country one last time in 2028, when he will be 43, James was honest in saying he doesn’t think it will happen.
A lot can change in four years so maybe James eventually reconsiders and gives it one last Olympic run in front of the home crowd in L.A.
Even though he is still playing at such a high level though, it’s hard to expect that to be the case four years from now.
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