Lakers News: LeBron James Reveals Speech He Gave Team USA After Olympic Semis Rally

The 20-time All-Star is looking for his third gold medal on Saturday.

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; United States forward LeBron James (6) goes to the basket during the second half against Serbia in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers superstar combo forward LeBron James, at the ripe old age of 39, is seasoned enough that he has a distinct sense memory of the last time the Team USA men's Olympic basketball team did not claim the gold medal. The summer after his rookie season, James and his fellow future Hall of Fame first-year colleagues Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade joined the ill-fitting Team USA squad that merely won the bronze medal during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece.

James, Wade and Anthony were all often given the late-game cold shoulder by then-Team USA head coach Larry Brown, who had prioritized his more established, chemistry-free veterans, possibly to the detriment of that team's success.

This year's far more loaded club, led by veterans like James, his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, Phoenix Suns All-Star power forward Kevin Durant, and All-NBA Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, almost fell short of the ultimate Olympics prize again on Thursday. Team USA trailed three-time Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic's Team Serbia by as many as 17 points, and ultimately had to stage a 32-15 fourth quarter rally to vanquish the club in its semifinal matchup, 95-91, and advance to the gold medal game.

Read More: LeBron James, Team USA Rally Late to Beat Serbia, Advance to Gold Medal Game

James once again was insanely spectacular. The 6-foot-9 superstar logged his second triple-double in an Olympic game, a feat no one else has achieved twice. In 32 minutes of play, the four-time league MVP scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor (2-of-4 from long range) and 2-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe, pulled down 12 rebounds, dished out 10 dimes, and swiped one steal.

Read More: LeBron James Talks Historic Olympic Stat Line vs Team Serbia

According to BasketNews, James gave Team USA a galvanizing postgame speech after securing the victory — a trend he has done after every contest thus far at the Paris games (the U.S. is 5-0 in competition, and also went 5-0 in its warm-up games ahead of official play).

"I told them that, you know, it's good to be tested, it's great to be tested, and our ultimate goal is one game away," James said. "We look forward to the matchup on Saturday against France."

"I'm always trying to be aggressive and make plays for our team, trying to do a little bit of everything on the floor," James said of his own play on Thursday. "My teammates believe in me, and I was able to come through for them."

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