Days ago, LeBron James helped lead Team USA men’s basketball to an Olympic gold medal in Paris. While teammates such as Stephen Curry may have been more impressive offensively, it was James’ all-around excellence on a consistent basis that earned him the MVP of men’s basketball competition.
It was James’ third Olympic gold medal, which is one more than Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant won. Those on social media who think James is the greatest basketball player ever have been pointing to that as part of their argument.
James was on the 2008 Olympic “Redeem Team” that won back the gold after only winning the bronze in 2004 during James’ first appearance in Olympic competition. He also won the gold in 2012 in London while playing a more central role than he did in 2008.
He said that his most recent gold medal means the most to him because it is his most recent one.
Via 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.”
In this year’s Summer Games, the 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar averaged 14.2 points, 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds a game while shooting 66% from the field. He led Team USA in assists and rebounds per game as well as shooting percentage, and he often assumed point guard duties while creating pace for the United States.
It was a reminder that, even after all these years and all the wear and tear, he is still one of the best basketball players in the world.