At the age of 19, he made his Olympic debut for the United States team. In his 20s, he repeated the action twice. And he’s back for another run, only a few months away from turning forty.
LeBron James already had his legacy established long ago; he didn’t need to add to it or fill in some gaps on his CV. He just made the decision to play this summer because he wantsJames hit the floor on Saturday with the team that the United States is sending to the Paris Games later this month, marking the beginning of his journey to become the first American men’s basketball player to compete at the Olympics in three separate decades.
The U.S. winning gold for a fifth time straight will be the only acceptable conclusion to the five and a half-week training camp that began in Las Vegas.
“I’m still playing a high level,” James, a three-time Olympic medalist — two golds and one bronze — said Saturday after the first workout. “I still love the game of basketball. And Team USA has done well by me, so I felt like it was important for this summer to be able to go out there and play with the rest of the guys.”
The first session took place on a day that marked another first for the James family: the Los Angeles Lakers’ first game in the California Classic summer league coincided with Bronny James’s professional debut. Bronny James is the son of the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.
