LeBron James decided to lead Olympic roster when he broke NBA-point record

With his most recent Olympic gold medal, LeBron James has earned his ninth MVP award of his accolade cabinet, including four league MVPs and four Finals MVPs, achieved across two decades of professional basketball. Even at 39-years of age, the veteran proved he still has it in him as he was crucial leading Team USA to glory this summer.  

Right after beating France in the final match, USA basketball managing director Grant Hill, revealed the story of how LeBron James first committed to this roster. According to the former NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist, it all started on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers superstar had just hit a mid-range jumper in the third quarter against Oklahoma City and officially passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Then and there, Hill knew that he needed LeBron in his Olympic mission in Paris.

Grant Hill played until he was 40, but as he told us in Open Run, he didn’t have quiiiiiite the hops LeBron has at 39. Very cool story here from Grant about how locked LeBron has been on this Olympic team since Day 1. pic.twitter.com/aO7no7gtE4

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) August 9, 2024

“I just went up to him and said, ‘Hey man, I need you in Paris,’ and he said ‘I’m in,’” Grant admitted to reporters back in April. “It was casual, it was at halftime, people say things in the moment. But we circled back last year and from that moment on, there was never any doubt that he was going to do it.”

For the managing director, it was his first time ever recruiting James, as he only started on the job in April 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. As for the Los Angeles forward, it had been more than a decade since the last time he represented Team USA when he conquered the gold medal at London in 2012.

“I didn’t really know him that well, I’m kind of from the generation that if you didn’t play with somebody, you don’t really know them. But we’ve been able, through this, to get to know each other,” Hill confessed. “He deserves this.”

So during the All-Star game on February 18, he was swamped by the press about the possibility of making his last Olympic run. “It’s more miles put on these tires,” he said in Indianapolis. “But if I’m committed – which I am – to Team USA, then I’m going to commit my mind, body and soul to being out there for Team USA, being out there representing our country with the utmost respect and go out there and play.”

Steve Kerr also talked about the privilege of being able to coach LeBron, especially after competing against him through such a fierce rivalry

Back on April 17, Steve Kerr knew for a fact that he was going to coach one of the best players to ever grace a basketball court. “It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” LeBron said some months ago.

After competing against each other in one of the biggest rivalries in modern basketball, as Warriors and Cavaliers fought until the end for several titles since a decade ago, both James and Kerr went from foes to allies during this Olympic process.

“LeBron, what a blessing to coach him finally after all these years of coaching against him and trying to figure out how to beat him and to watch him up close,” expressed the tactician. “I’ve said this for the past few weeks — just to see his professionalism, how coachable he is, how gifted he is at every part of the game he seems to have mastered, I’m thrilled to have been able to coach him these last six weeks and I’m a LeBron fan for life.”

The 39-year-old averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.3 steals across six tournament contests. In the gold-medal match, James dropped 14 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals in 33 minutes in their 98-87 final victory over France.