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When the FIBA World Cup took place last summer, Team USA participated and came out empty-handed, losing to Canada in the bronze medal game.
Conversations of the world catching up and Team USA being unable to dominate permeated the basketball world.
The caveat was that the FIBA World Cup version of Team USA had good players like Lakers guard Austin Reaves and Klay Thompson, but it wasn’t a showcase of the best America has to offer.
The day after that bronze medal defeat, we heard reports that LeBron James was strongly interested in playing at the 2024 Olympics and recruiting players like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to join him.
This led to the creation of one of the greatest teams ever assembled and Team USA gave us moments we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
We saw Curry hit moonshots to put France to sleep, Durant make tough basket after tough basket over smaller defenders and LeBron win the Olympics MVP award.
It wasn’t just personal success for Team USA; they finished the job and secured their fifth straight gold medal, putting to rest the idea that they weren’t the best country in the sport of basketball.
As LeBron mentioned, after the gold medal game via Ben Goliver, they got their moment.
USA Basketball’s LeBron James after winning gold at Paris Olympics: “We got our moment. This is what we wanted. We didn’t like the way we played last summer, so we put together this team very fast.” pic.twitter.com/PIhLIczwj3
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 10, 2024
Sometimes, we must experience our lowest lows to reach our highest highs. Team USA’s performance at the FIBA World Cup was infuriating. Still, it hurt the country’s pride and our stars responded by putting in the work and making the commitment to play in the summer for America.
Given that LeBron, Steph and KD are closer to their 40s than their 30s, this was a big ask of them during what is supposed to be their downtime to rest and prepare for another NBA season.
Instead, Serbia and France pushed them to the limit, but they came out on top in what is likely the last time they’ll be on the floor together, representing the United States.
It certainly seems like the last time LeBron will do it, as he says he “can’t see” himself playing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
We’ll see if that changes in a couple of years when we are deeper into this new Olympic cycle, but what matters now is that Team USA remains kings of the court and they have LeBron and the rest of the Avengers to thank for that.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
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