Lakers' LeBron James Reflects on Team USA's Opening Win: 'We'll Be Better'

Team USA committed 17 turnovers Sunday.

Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Team USA earned a dominant 110-84 victory over Serbia to open up official play for the United States Basketball Men's National Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but forward LeBron James knows they can be even better. Even with a nearly 30-point victory, Team USA knows they got away with some mistakes that could potentially cost them during future games.

"We'll all get better with our turnovers," James said after the game, via NBC Olympics and Paralympics. "Obviously we're trying to make the right plays, so you can never exclude that. With some of the careless turnovers that we had that we can give ourselves even more possessions offensively, we’ll be better coming up on Wednesday.”

Team USA had 17 turnovers during the loss, led by James' six turnovers in the game. This was surprisingly high for James, who averaged 3.5 turnovers per game during the recent NBA season.

Even with more turnovers, James was still the dominant force in Team USA's win Sunday. He scored 21 points while recording eight rebounds and nine assists for the United States in the win. His points total was second on Team USA, only to Kevin Durant, who put up 23 points.

James has been dominant through the first Group Stage game and the USA Basketball Showcase. He scored a game-winning layup to help earn a win over South Sudan at the last moment and led Team USA in scoring during the showcase as he averaged 14.1 points per game.

James is competing in his fourth Olympic Games, and his first Olympics since London 2012. He has previously helped Team USA to win the gold medal at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, along with a bronze medal at Athens 2004.

The 39-year-old superstar will look to help the United States win their fifth straight gold medal in the men's basketball final this summer. Team USA will face South Sudan next, on Wednesday, July 31.

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