Highlights:
- Discover how LeBron James is trying to rebuild Team USA for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, aiming to bring in basketball icons like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
- Learn why the 2024 Olympics are seen as a ‘last dance’ chance for ageing NBA superstars LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant to compete on the international stage.
- Explore Team USA’s challenges as they prepare to take on formidable opponents like Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, France’s Rudy Gobert, and rising star Victor Wembanyama.
LeBron James has contacted several basketball stars to enlist in the United States Olympic team in 2024, including Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. The focus now shifts to finding redemption in the 2024 Paris Olympics following Team USA’s 2023 FIBA World Cup performance, which saw the Americans fail to medal for the second consecutive tournament after falling to Canada on Sunday for third place. It is expected that when the Olympics come around, the U.S. can assemble a roster capable of winning the nation’s fifth consecutive gold medal because most of the top American players in the NBA are not on the FIBA roster.
Although invitations and official pledges are still some time away, campaigning has already begun. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, LeBron James has reportedly indicated interest in participating in the 2024 Olympics. He is also attempting to enlist some of his fellow superstars to join him in Paris next summer. James, who will be 39 for the Olympics in Paris, has contacted many celebrities who, if they all sign on, should rule next summer.
According to reports, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, and Draymond Green are all on that list.
According to Charania, James, Curry, and Durant have all discussed playing for Team USA next summer, and all three of them see it as a “last dance” chance for the ageing players to compete internationally. James last participated in an Olympic competition in 2012, winning a gold medal in London along with Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant. Durant was a gold-winning 2020 Tokyo Olympics team member and was hailed as that group’s MVP.
Curry might be the most driven of the three athletes because he has never represented Team USA in an Olympics, and a gold medal would complete his Hall of Fame career. In addition to those three celebrities, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, De’Aaron Fox, and Kyrie Irving have also indicated a desire to represent Team USA, according to Charania.
Although the league’s top players appear to be initially interested, a lot may change between now and next summer, when a definite commitment would be required. That’s especially true if any of their teams have a successful postseason run since that usually causes guys to back out so they don’t go overboard.
However, Team USA will have a lot more quality than the squad it sent to the World Cup if even half of the stars named above commit to next summer. But if the United States fourth-place showing taught us anything, it’s that this squad desperately needs size to compete on a global scale. Team USA struggled on the offensive boards in numerous of their World Cup games, which led to second-chance opportunities that were crucial in their semifinal loss to Germany.
Many of Team USA’s World Cup games featured a lack of offensive strength, which led to second-chance opportunities that were crucial in their semifinal loss to Germany. And the United States will need size to contain those players in Paris next year when Serbia presumably has Nikola Jokic. France has Rudy Gobert and rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Finding that size will be challenging because the American big-man pool lacks elite talent. The current MVP, Joel Embiid, is still considering playing for Team USA in the upcoming summer, but he is also considering representing France. The Americans will have an even greater size disadvantage if he plays for France.
Grant Hill and the rest of Team USA’s brain trust have plenty of time to determine what a balanced team looks like, but a major priority should be ensuring adequate size on the roster. However, with the amount of scoring the trio alone can produce, it might not even matter as much if LeBron, Curry, and Durant all sign on to compete.