With the clock ticking until the start of the 2024 Olympics, USA Basketball coach Steve Kerr has some big decisions to make when training camp opens on Saturday, including whether to bring LeBron James off the bench.
According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, it's possible for the Los Angeles Lakers to field a starting five without their superstar, but a USA Basketball source said that scenario is unlikely to happen.
Speaking to reporters last week about his starting lineup, Kerr said he and his staff have not made any final decisions at this time.
“That's a great question. My staff and I have talked about it quite a bit. I think it's a good question to have, but I expect all 12 players on this roster will be Hall of Famers one day. So how do you pick five of the 12? It's about finding combinations that work, finding two-way lineups where you can be effective on both sides.”
“So our big task in Las Vegas is to find the right five-man combination and ask all 12 of us to be absolutely committed to our goal of winning a gold medal, no matter what the outcome is or who is playing.”
Under normal circumstances, James would be a sure thing in the starting lineup, and Kerr confirmed last week that all 12 players, including Kawhi Leonard, are expected to be healthy for the start of training camp, making the 2024 USA Basketball National Team roster the strongest in history.
Coach Vardon named Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant as the starters for the U.S. national team.
The main players who could compete with James for the remaining two spots are Leonard and Anthony Davis.
Davis in particular is a likely candidate to move into the starting lineup after the U.S. team had trouble defending and rebounding due to being short on players at the FIBA World Cup, where opponents had 19 more offensive rebounds (98 to 79) in eight games.
Germany held a 12-8 advantage in offensive rebounds in their 113-111 win over the United States in the semifinals.
Leonard is still a strong defender at this stage of his career, but he's not at the same level he was when he won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Needless to say, it would be odd for James not to be in the starting lineup for any team he's been on – the 20-time All-Star has only come off the bench twice in his 1,492 NBA games.
This will be James' first Olympic appearance since 2012. He has won two gold medals and one bronze medal with Team USA during his illustrious career. The Paris Games will be the 39-year-old James' final appearance with USA Basketball.
James has appeared in 68 games for the United States since 2004. He is averaging 14.4 points on 60.1 percent shooting, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per international game.
The U.S. opens training camp on Saturday in Las Vegas. Its first Olympic game will be against Serbia on July 28 at 11:15 a.m. ET.
