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Dick Weiss

LeBron James Still the King, Undecided about 2016 Olympics

LAS  VEGAS — LeBron James showed up to make a mandatory cameo appearance at the Cox Center at UNLV Wednesday at Team USA’s mini-camp here. He made a regal entrance, accompanied by his two sons, Bronny and Bryce.

James is still the king here. The powerful 6-8, 249 pound forward, who has won four NBA MVPs, two titles and is an 11 time All NBA selection, is the cornerstone of Team USA’s resurgence on the world stage since 2006. He has been a member of three Olympic teams since 2004 and has won gold medals in 2008 at Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. At age 31, this will likely be his last hurrah as an Olympic player when the U.S. men’s team goes to Rio.
 
James would not definitely commit to playing, leaving some suspense to his latest decision. But it would be a surprise if the Cavs All league forward doesn’t participate, given what he means to Nike in terms of marketing power. “All my decisions come from my family,” he said. “We’ll have to see how my family feels about it, my health and how I do in my NBA campaign, see what I can do with my team, Cleveland.”
 
James has become the face of USA basketball. “When we talk about LeBron, we don’t just talk about a guy who is playing for USA basketball,” national team coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He is USA basketball. He and Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, they have ownership. And that is an amazing commitment. Lebron has made an amazing commitment to this country’s basketball, a huge positive impact instead of just winning.”
 
There was a time, though, when it looked like James might never play in another Olympics after the sour taste the 2004 games left in his mouth as a teenager.
 
James was only 19 years old, straight off his rookie year in the NBA when he and two other rookies Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade was a late additions to a dysfunctional team coached by Larry Brown that had been decimated by defections and struggled to a bronze medal finish .
 
None of the three received significant playing time on a team where the starting guards were Steph’ Marbury and Allen Iverson and chemistry was a constant problem following a 19 point loss to Puerto Rico in the opener. James averaged just 14.6 minutes with 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in eight games for the first U/S. team to return home without a gold medal since professionals were allowed to play in 1992. James felt his limited playing time was a “lowlight: and believed he was not given a fair chance to play by Brown, who traditionally favored the use of veterans.
 
Major sports columnists referred to his attitude during the Olympics as “disrespectful” and “distasteful.” and representatives from Nike had to meet with fficials from newly formed USA Basketball to smooth things out so future stars James, Anthony and Wade would not drop out of the program.
 
“I left with a lot of emotions,’ James said. “But as a 19 year old kid, you don’t really know. I left feeling, Hey, I spent 38 days away from home and I’m not playing. I felt I could have played for the team a lot more. You go back. We finished third. You never want that. My wife–girl friend at the time was pregnant at the time and I felt maybe I should have stayed home with her. “We were trying to figure it out in 2004 We needed something to bring back the pride in playing for the USA and that’s what (managing director) Jerry Colangelo and Coach K did that. They implemented the system where everybody felt trust.”
 
Colangelo’s extreme make over included the promise of a three year commitment for every candidate, beginning in 2006 . It took James a while before he completely bought in. He played a greater role in the FIBA World Championships in Japan, averaging 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a co-captain. The team finished 8-1 but was upset by Greece in the semi-finals and took home another bronze. James attitude was again questioned, this time by teammate Bruce Bowen, who confronted James in tryouts about his treatment of staff members.
 
Before naming James to the 2008 Olympic team, Colangelo and Krzyzewski gave James an ultimatum to improve his attitude or move on. He listened, eventually blossoming into both a leader and a superstar who is the currently best player on the planet.
James was at his best in Beijing as the Redeem team went undefeated, winning its first gold medal in world competition since 2000. He scored 14 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and contributing 3 assists as his team defeated Spain in the finals. James credited the teams attitude and experience for their improvement, saying I don’t think we understood what it meant to put on a USA uniform and all the people that we were representing in 2004. We definitely know that now.”
 
 “I’ve had so many turning points in my career and that was one of them,” he added.  “I came back a better player, a more in tune player. ”
 
Four years later, in 2012, James became the leader of the team that won gold again in London, replacing Kobe Bryant, who, at age 34, stepped back. He recorded the first triple double in U.S. Olympic basketball history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists against Australia, then scored 19 points in a win over Spain in the finals. James is the now all-time leading scorer in U.S. men’s basketball history, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to win an NBA MVP, NBA title, NBA finals MVP and Olympic gold medal.
James will be surrounded by an embarrassment of riches on the 2016 team should he choose to play. At least 10 players who will be cut could have made previous Olympic teams. 
 
James got a feel for Rio when he visited the South American city last summer, flying in on a private jet to watch the the World Cup final between Argentina and Germany at Maracana Stadium as a guest of Nike. His visit co-insided with his announcement he was leaving the Miami Heat for Cleveland. James watched Brazil’s 3-0 loss to Netherlands on TV with his inner circle and then made a 45-minute appearance at Nike’s Casa Phenomenal, a gigantic converted warehouse along the city’s port that is serving as the sports apparel company’s World Cup headquarters. He was accompanied by Cavs teammate Anderson Varejao, a Brazilian native.
 
James was swarmed by local teenagers who had signed up online to visit the interactive exhibit, which also was visited by Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Ronaldo during the Cup. After posing for photos with the kids, James went into a caged concrete mini-soccer field and did a staged 15 minute Q and A with a Nike rep. 
 
“They love their sports down there — not just futball,” he said. “It’s always exciting to be in an atmosphere like that.”
 
p://www.miamiherald.com/sports/article1975344.html#storylink=cpy

James, who announced Friday he is leaving the Heat for his hometown team, arrived here on a private jet shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday as a guest of Nike, and will attend the final at the historic Maracana Stadium.
He watched Brazil’s 3-0 loss to Netherlands on TV with his inner circle and then made a 45-minute appearance at Nike’s Casa Phenomenal, a gigantic converted warehouse along the city’s port that is serving as the sports apparel company’s World Cup headquarters.
 
He was accompanied by Cavs teammate Anderson Varejao, a Brazilian native.
Wearing a royal blue T-shirt and gray shorts, James was swarmed by local teenagers (some in Heat jerseys) who had signed up online to visit the interactive exhibit, which also was visited by Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Ronaldo during the Cup. After posing for photos with the kids, James went into a caged concrete soccer mini-field and did a 15-minute staged Q&A with a Nike representative.

Team USA should be a heavy favorite in the men’s basketball competition ahead of Spain, France and Brazil. “We’re trying to build a brand that will last forever,” James admitted.

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Dick Weiss is a sportswriter and columnist who has covered college football and college and professional basketball for the Philadelphia Daily News and the New York Daily News. He has received the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and is a member of the national Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He has also co-written several books with Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Dick Vitale and authored a tribute book on Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

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