Lakers' LeBron James Helps Usher In Start of 2024 Paris Olympics

Matt Levine | Jul 26, 2024

News came out earlier this week that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James would be the flag bearer for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and he has accepted the honor with pride. 2024 will mark the likely last Olympic games for James as he heads toward retirement in the next couple of seasons. 

The first NBA player to bear the United States flag at the Olympics’ opening ceremony:

LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/tFpQQFxS2Y

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 26, 2024

Leading the stars and stripes 🇺🇸

📺: @NBCOlympics & @peacock #ParisOlympics | #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/Yxcgph2rsj

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 26, 2024

But before he does that, James is looking to add one more gold medal to his resume. James, along with all the other stars on Team USA enter the games as the prohibited favorite to take home the gold in basketball. 

The roster for Team USA is stacked from top to bottom with NBA talent so there is no reason why the Americans shouldn't win the Olympics. The biggest challenge for Team USA is that the rest of the world has seen an increase in talent, making the games much more competitive.

Based on the three pre-game showcase matchups, this may not be a walk in the park for Team USA. They have had to scratch and claw their way to wins so far, showing that this could be closer than some originally thought it would be.

Anything but the gold medal would be a complete disaster for Team USA considering the level of talent on the roster. Alongside James are Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Davis, among others.

We should be in for a good showing from the Americans as they look to claim the glory. The first game is Sunday morning at 8:15 a.m. PT. 

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