The USA has been in a race for the gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially after the gymnastics win and the country’s national basketball team headed to the quarterfinals.
America’s basketball team, consisting of Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White, has reached a step closer to the final prize. The group has had two back-to-back wins, with a high score of 110 to 84 against Serbia, and a win of 103 to 86 against South Sudan.
This team is made up of some of the most well-known NBA athletes in the nation. The USA is not only known for its players but also for being the country with the most wins in the basketball tournament, with a total of 16 Olympic gold medals. The world knows that this means more than just a game to 39-year-old Lakers player, LeBron James. With this year being his fourth time participating in the games, he expressed in an Instagram post, “winning isn’t a game to me!! @olympics #WinningIsntForEveryone #Paris2024.”
LeBron noted during a press conference earlier this month, “We want to play for each other. There’s 11 other guys beside me that I want to play for and vice versa. Our only goal is to win a Gold Medal for Team USA.”
During an interview with Today earlier this month, he recalled what basketball has done for him and how he is now the oldest basketball Olympian at this year’s games. “I hope it’s not just talking about basketball… what I do in our community and the people that I inspire all over the world is what I want a lot of my — a lot of my legacy to be talked about… Basketball has definitely given me an opportunity to see parts of the world and do things that I would never even imagine or be able to do without it. But if my legacy is only talking about the game of basketball, then I failed in my mission, so, we’ll see though.” he told the outlet.
The team is set to play their next game against La Isla Del Encanto, also known as Puerto Rico.