(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
The U.S. men’s basketball team competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics is perhaps the most talented in history, featuring Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Anthony Edwards.
It’s a truly unreal level of talent, and the U.S. team recently held a training camp in Las Vegas in preparation for the Olympics, and despite all the talent on display, it was somehow the oldest player who stood out the most.
According to Joe Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic, a vote was taken to see who the best player of camp was, and L. James won.
17-year-old Duke phenom Cooper Flagg may have been the surprise star of USA National Team training camp, but the real twist was that the best player was an NBA legend more than twice his age: 39-year-old LeBron James.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and just a few months away from starting his 22nd season, was named the camp’s National Team Player of the Year in a poll of Olympic camp attendees conducted by The Athletic.
With all that talent, it’s pretty incredible to see LeBron standing out as the best player on the court at nearly 40 years old, and it shows just how special a player he is, even at this stage in his career.
James led the way with five votes, but other players also received votes, including his Lakers teammate Davis.
The U.S. roster is packed with future Hall of Famers and has often been compared to the legendary 1992 Dream Team, but James won the voting with the most votes, five.
Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards and July Holiday received two votes each, while Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Bam Adebayo received one vote each.
It will be interesting to see how head coach Steve Kerr decides to designate the rotations and roles for everyone on this team, but ahead of his 22nd NBA season, James has made it clear he is still one of the elite players the league has to offer.
U.S. national team coach Steve Kerr is “amazed” by the rigor of Lakers superstar LeBron James’ training regimen
One of the reasons LeBron James stood out at U.S. National Team training camp was because he always gave it his all whenever he was on the court, and that was especially noticeable to U.S. National Team head coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr admitted he was “surprised” by how rigorous the Lakers superstar’s training was, so much so that he asked assistants Tyronn Lue and Erik Spoelstra, who coached LeBron in the NBA, if that was normal. Of course, they both agreed it was, giving a glimpse into just how hard LeBron works.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive event coverage, join in on live shows and more.
