The 2024 Olympics are officially in the books and led by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, USA Basketball accomplished its goal of bringing back the gold medal for the fifth consecutive time.
After managing a double-digit comeback against Serbia in the semifinals, Team USA was able to fend off France on their home floor to win the gold. James was named the 2024 Olympics MVP, a well-deserved honor considering what he did on both ends of the floor throughout pool play and the medal rounds.
This is James’ third gold medal and the one he had to work the hardest for despite a stacked roster he nicknamed “The Avengers”.
When asked which gold medal means the most to him, James picked this most recent one though he appreciates the ones from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics as well, via Sam Amick of The Athletic:
“I mean, (this) is the best one because it’s the one that’s right now,” he said so diplomatically. “I mean, obviously the Redeem Team (in ’08) had a lot of — you know, we had to come back, because we had a couple years where we weren’t playing to our capability. So in ’08, we had the Redeem Team come back, and then in ’12 we played some good ball as well and were able to win that in London.”
James has already said he doesn’t foresee himself participating for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, so this last hurrah for the USA Basketball program carries more weight than the previous tournaments when he was still at the peak of his powers. Despite being much older, James proved he could rise to the occasion when his country needed him the most.
The other thing that makes this gold medal so special is that James got to share the experience with fellow superstars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. The trio of James, Curry and Durant defined a generation of basketball and it was amazing to see them come up clutch against Serbia and France.
Overall, this was a fitting sendoff for James’ time in the USA Basketball program and it’ll be exciting to see how he carries this momentum over to the 2024-25 season with the Lakers.
Steve Kerr a LeBron James ‘fan for life’ after winning gold at 2024 Olympics
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr is familiar with LeBron James after their battles over the years, but he acknowledged he’s a fan for life of the Lakers star after the two worked together to secure a gold medal.