Fourth Olympic selection for James
LeBron James and his Laker teammate Anthony Davis and Clipper forward Kawhi Leonard are among the 12-players selected for the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team at the Paris Olympics in late July.
This is the fourth Olympic selection for James, a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning 2008 and 2012 teams and 2004 team that won the bronze medal.
Davis was also a member of the 2012 team.
Leonard is among the five first-time Olympians on the team, along with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton.
There is a fourth player on the team with a Los Angeles tie, Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, a former standout at UCLA and Campbell Hall School in Studio City.
Holiday is among five members of the gold medal-winning team from the Tokyo Olympics seeking a second consecutive gold medal, along with Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker and Phoenix forward Kevin Durant, also a member of the 2012 and 2016 gold medal-winning teams.
The U.S. will be coached by Warriors coach Steve Kerr, an alum of what is now known as Palisades Charter High School. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is among the assistant coaches, along with Gonzaga coach Mark Few and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
The U.S. will begin Olympic play July 28 against Serbia in Lille,
France, where group play will be held. The knockout and medal rounds of the 5x5
Olympic tournament will be played in Paris.
The U.S. will begin exhibition play July 10 in Las Vegas against Canada.
The U.S. has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in 5x5 men's basketball and seven of the eight since professionals were first allowed to play in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
The selections came 100 days before the July 26 opening ceremony for the Paris Games.
