mobile app bar

“LeBron James is what the USA Men’s Basketball team is missing”: NBA legend Magic Johnson explains why Kevin Durant and co. are missing the Lakers superstar at Tokyo 2020

Advait Jajodia
Published

"They called LeBron James' inner circle 'The Enablers'": How the Lakers superstar was in danger of not playing with Kobe Bryant at Beijing Olympics 2008

According to Magic Johnson, the USA Men’s Basketball team is missing the virtue of LeBron James on their team. The NBA legend calls the Lakers superstar the “best leader in basketball”.

Over the past couple of decades, basketball was a USA dominated sport. Even though the sport is now more worldwide than before, the United States has the best group of players out there. Proving their dominance, the Men’s Basketball Team of the USA has won the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games a whopping 15 out of 19 times, since 1936.

Even this year, the USA has built up an incredibly strong team to represent them at the 202 Tokyo Olympic Games. The team is filled with All-Stars and futures Hall-Of-Famers, led by Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, amongst several other superstars. This team is the strong favourites to win their 16th Olympic gold medal in the coming Games, looking to be the deadliest team on paper.

Earlier this month, when Team USA lost back-to-back exhibition games, it was a huge surprise and somewhat of a shocker. However, players and coaching staff tried to take the positives from those losses. Despite the losses against Nigeria and Australia, Gregg Popovich’s team was considered to be a strong favourite to defend and win their fourth-consecutive gold.

Also Read: Dennis Rodman maniacally studied rebounding while not revealing too many of his secrets

“USA Men’s Basketball team is missing the best leader in the game of basketball- LeBron James”: Magic Johnson

Sadly, Kevin Durant and co. gave away their opening match of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics against France, losing their first basketball match in an Olympics game in 17 years, breaking an incredible 24-game winning streak. Now, the concerns for Team USA and their chances of winning the prestigious medal have started being questioned.

As several analysts and fans are trying to figure out the issue or giving their own suggestions, NBA legend Magic Johnson disclosed the one piece that the American team was missing. Or rather, who the American Team was missing.

Yes, LeBron James is one of the greatest players we have ever witnessed. Yes, Bron has also been amongst the most decorated players in league history. And yes, the 2-time Olympic gold medal winner’s addition could’ve been a huge benefit to the national squad.

But with some megastars on the team like KD, Dame, Tatum, Book, Adebayo, one would assume that the team is already oozing with a lot of talent. Plus, Team USA would’ve accepted King James with open arms, but LBJ himself decide to turn down the invitation this year to focus on his newly-released movie and all his injuries.

Also Read: NBA Twitter roasts the Lakers star and the sequel’s mere $9.56 M box office collection in Week 2

Team USA really needs to get it going for them before things go far out of hands. After losing their first group stage game to France, the USA team will be facing Iran as their second matchup of this campaign.

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia

x-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Advait Jajodia, a seasoned NBA journalist, has had a passion for the game for over a decade. His journey from admiring Kobe Bryant's precision to being in awe of Stephen Curry's long-range mastery instilled a profound understanding of basketball. With a background as a two-time National-level player, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 21-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 3,350+ articles.

Read more from Advait Jajodia

Share this article