20-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James has enjoyed an eventful summer.
The 6-foot-9 superstar’s former “Mind The Game” podcast co-host JJ Redick was named L.A.’s new head coach, his eldest son Bronny James was selected by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft, and LeBron James himself inked a massive two-year, $101.4 million contract to stay with Los Angeles through the 2025-26 season, when he’ll be 41 and competing in a record-breaking 23rd pro stint.
But all that was just the preamble.
James and All-NBA Second Team Lakers center Anthony Davis reasserted their place within the hierarchy of the league’s elite this summer, when they helped lead Team USA to its fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, defeating a defense-heavy Team France that was essentially was playing a home game. For his efforts, the four-time league champ was named tournament MVP.
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But, to hear James tell it, he is confident he could be elite in a few other very specific Olympic events.
On his Uninterrupted talk show “The Shop,” James expressed his confidence that his athletic good luck could extend to other athletic enterprises at the summer games — with enough lead time, of course.
“Compete in, like, how much time are you going to give me?” LeBron responded when asked if he felt capable of medalling in another sport or event. He went on to cite a pair of track and field options. “Maybe the long jump. I think I could do the long jump, maybe, or the high jump. If you give me some time. I need about six months, eight months, or whatever, preparation to get to that.”
Given that James, who was already the league’s oldest player last season, will be 43 when the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics roll around — and that elite track and field athletes are generally two decades younger — it seems likely that the ship has sailed on James competing on that stage.
Before James has to really worry about the 2028 games, he needs to dial in and help Los Angeles strive for its 18th championship — and his fifth. The four-time league MVP may not be quite the All-Defensive Team two-way superstar he was during his absolute prime, but he remains one of the better scorers and distributors in the game. He just needs Rob Pelinka to give himself and Davis some additional defensive help.
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