Unlike the preparation match, the group match against South Sudan was much simpler for LeBron James and his teammates. Team USA won 103-86 with a fairly solid collective performance since the score was well distributed. The proof with the 12 points of LeBron James, who did not have to force his talent.
Very visible in the first quarter, and even at the very beginning of the match, LeBron James took advantage of the evening to reach a milestone in the selection since he became the 3rd player in the history of the United States to reach the 300-point mark at the Olympic Games. The Lakers player thus joins Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
“Oh, nothing much.”, James answers when asked about this milestone. “At the end of the day, I just want to win. I’m here to win and win gold, and that’s all I’m looking at. It’s not even about scoring points, it’s not about stats because not all stats are visible, whether it’s sticking your forward, being the guy who makes the second-to-last pass, or just stopping guys from getting to the basket. So it’s definitely an honor any time you hear your name listed in the records, but at the end of the day, I’m here for a bigger cause.”
The victory of a group
On a collective level, the victory was marked by the changes made by Steve Kerr. Joel Embiid did not play a single minute and Anthony Davis joined the starting 5. Jayson Tatum, too, started the game at the expense of Jrue Holiday.
“We know that the staff can do it throughout the tournament” LeBron continues. “We know it could be anybody's turn on any given night, and it's not about who starts, it's not even about who finishes… It's about, when you come on, playing at a high level the entire time you're on the field. I think everybody did that in the minutes they played tonight.”
Indeed, the bench proved to be valuable in securing the victory as quickly as possible. Bam Adebayo even finished as the top scorer on the American side with 18 points at 8/10 shooting including 2/3 from 3-point range.
” It's awesome “James concludes. “You know, we've got 12 guys that can go out and get the job done, on any given night. And our second unit did it for us tonight. Defensively, that's where it all started, and then offensively, they were excellent, too.”
