LeBron James, playing in his fourth Olympic Games, says gold medal means everything

LAS VEGAS — He first played for the U.S. Olympic team when he was 19, competed twice more in his 20s and now, a few months before turning 40, he's back for another Olympics.

LeBron James didn't need another Olympic experience to fill a gap in his resume or add to an accomplishment he earned so long ago. He decided to play this summer for one simple reason: He wants to play.

James took his first step toward becoming the first U.S. men's basketball player to compete in three different Olympic Games at three different age levels when he took the court Saturday as part of the U.S. team that will travel to Paris later this month, opening training camp in Las Vegas and kicking off a 5 1/2-week challenge whose only acceptable outcome is if the U.S. wins a fifth consecutive gold medal.

“I'm still playing at a high level,” James, who won two Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal, said after his first practice Saturday. “I still love the game of basketball, and the U.S. team has done well for me, so I felt it was important to get out on the court and play with the other guys this summer.”

The first practice marked another day of firsts for the James family. The Las Vegas practice coincided with the Los Angeles Lakers' first game of the California Classic summer league and the pro debut of Bronny James, the son of the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

It would have been very easy for James to ask for the first day off to go watch his son's debut. That was never considered. As soon as the bus arrived, he was on the court, shaking hands with teammates, dunking and reuniting with two of his former coaches, Erik Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue, both of whom won NBA titles while James was with the team.

“I was amazed at how hard he works,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “I went to Ty and Supo and said, 'Is this normal?' and they said, 'Every day, every day.' Then I said to Supo, 'What was it like all that time before you got him?' And Supo said, 'Every day, every drill, every walk-through.'”

Kerr has faced James in four previous NBA Finals appearances, all against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who plays for Kerr with the Warriors and will make his Olympic debut this summer.

And it's fair to say that one of the things that intrigued James and Curry about teaming up was the idea of ​​them teaming up when deciding whether to play in Paris.

“I've talked to both of them about the idea of ​​coming together after playing against each other for so many years with high stakes,” Kerr said. “They obviously have great chemistry. The idea of ​​Steph playing without the ball and LeBron pushing in transition is very intriguing. Of course, Steph will also play with the ball, and LeBron has become a great shooter, but they're both very good in different areas of the game. I think they're both very excited to compete together for the first time.”

James was part of the U.S. teams that won bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 World Championships (now called the World Cup) in Japan, and the U.S. has been undefeated in international competition ever since, as long as James has worn the USA on his chest.

Beginning with the bronze medal game 18 years ago in Japan, the USA has played 36 games with James in uniform — 10 games at the 2007 FIBA ​​Americas tournament, four exhibitions before that and eight games in Beijing in 2008, and five more exhibitions and eight games at the 2012 London Games — with a record of 36-0. James hopes to be 47-0 by the end of the streak this summer.

“I came here to have a fun summer,” James said.

Though he did not play in Rio or Tokyo, James will be playing in his fourth Olympic Games, tying him for the most by a U.S. man in four Olympic appearances. Carmelo Anthony is the only other U.S. man to do so. Kevin Durant will also be playing in his fourth Olympic Games this summer.

It's a nice aside, but not something James is thinking about these days.

“Our only goal is to win a gold medal,” he said.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games