Lakers News: Is LeBron James Best Player on Team USA?

The 20-time All-Star is one of the oldest athletes in this year's Olympics.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA forward Lebron James (6) and guard Anthony Edwards (5) speak on the bench in the fourth quarter against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA forward LeBron James singlehandedly salvaged Team USA from potentially losing both of its two London-set exhibition games at the end of a five-game run of friendly pre-Olympic bouts. He scored the winning bucket to help USA Basketball complete a comeback from a 16-point deficit to South Sudan Saturday.

James then notched the program's final 11 points to help it survive Team Germany with a 92-88 win on Monday.

The Olympics tip off in Paris on Sunday for Team USA, with a matchup against Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic.

To hear Fox Sports 1's Nick Wright tell it on "First Thing's First," James has emerged to become the club's best player.

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"I think he's the best player on the team," Wright said. "I think that in these spots, when you are getting a healthy LeBron James, I think even at a sahde under 40, 21 years in the league, I don't think there's a better American basketball player. I am getting Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James, all at their current health and, look, give KD his healthy calf, who do I want in this coming tournament? I think the best guy's LeBron. He's the best player. He's the oldest guy in the league. We're in the Olympics, and because he's healthy, I think he's the best player, and that's remarkable. That's unprecedented and remarkable."

To be clear, as far this reporter knows, James was plenty healthy in the postseason, too, but because he's no longer an All-Defensive Team talent on that end of the hardwood, his vulnerabilities there were exposed during the Lakers' five-game first round series loss to the Denver Nuggets.

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