Paris 2024 Olympics: No surprise as LeBron James emerges as the closer for USA men’s basketball team

There’s one certainty as the United States men’s basketball team navigated through its five-game exhibition tour undefeated: LeBron James is the closer.

The four-time NBA MVP and two-time gold medalist has carried Team USA in the fourth quarter of its past two games, late wins against South Sudan and Germany. The Americans will open Group C play Sunday, 28 July against Serbia and its exhibition games have been arduous learning experiences.

Team USA won its past two games by a combined five points, with James making key buckets late each time, including a pivotal three-pointer to overcome the Germans, who led going into the fourth quarter. James, 39, has been Team USA’s best player during the exhibition schedule, returning after a 12-year absence.

After the game, James warned his teammates about being complacent because of their immense talent. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant, the former MVP and one of the more prolific scorers in the world, has yet to play and could make his debut Sunday against Serbia.

While there were predictions that the Americans would coast through the Olympic tournament with a roster that has 11 NBA All-Stars, four MVPs and arguably the best player to ever play the game (James) and the best shooter (Steph Curry), the exhibition stretch indicated that opponents aren’t daunted by Team USA’s talent and it is vulnerable when lackadaisical play becomes an issue.

“I’ve learned we’re beatable if we don’t execute the details of what teams know they have to do to beat us,” Curry said via USA Basketball’s Instagram page. “Which is extra possessions, not taking care of the ball, fouling too much. It has nothing to do with our offensive game. Obviously, Bron has been taking over in the fourth quarter, giving us a huge bump but we haven’t played our best offensive game yet.

“When we lock in defensively and rebound, nobody can really beat us. That’s how we’ve been coming back these last two games. Just execute the details and playing solid, hard-nosed basketball, we’ll be fine.”

LeBron James: Keeping the dream alive

There have been comparisons with this Team USA with the 1992 Dream Team that breezed through the Olympic tournament and were considered the greatest Olympic team of all time. But a scare against unheralded South Sudan followed by a close win over Germany has quieted those correlations for now.

With teams such as Germany, France, Canada and Australia carrying high hopes of medaling and catching Team USA during one of its lackadaisical stretches, the players and coaches know they have to be better.

“I think we can get a lot better,” U.S. Coach Steve Kerr said on the team’s website. “We’re getting to a place now where we are comfortable with rotations and I think guys are getting familiar with each other. But we can do a lot of things better. I thought our passing was not great tonight. They put a lot of defensive pressure on us and we turned it over a few times. I think we can tighten up our game and get better.”

Anthony Davis leads case for the defense

Kerr is still trying to figure out starting lineups, decide on a role for Joel Embiid and eventually integrate Durant into the rotation. Team USA’s Group C is considered the easiest of the trio considering South Sudan and Puerto Rico are ranked 33rd and 16th in the world respectively and are not favored to medal.

One major issue is turnovers. Team USA committed 71 turnovers in the five exhibition games, allowing teams to score off those live-ball turnovers with fast-break points. Team USA has reduced those mistakes late in games, relied on its halfcourt defense with the imposing Anthony Davis in the paint and stymied teams in the final minutes.

Team USA has a few days of practice when it arrives in Paris to address shortcomings but James’ message to his teammates was clear about losing focus in the middle of games and succumbing to major comebacks. Team USA enters the tournament as prohibitive favorites to win a fifth consecutive gold medal but the exhibition games proved the journey to gold won’t be easy.

Gary Washburn is an Olympic Channel correspondent and National NBA Writer for the Boston Globe.