Team USA had a disastrous finish at this year’s FIBA World Cup, losing its last two games and failing to win any medal at all.
It lost to Germany on Friday, which eliminated its chance of taking home the gold, and its loss to Canada on Sunday ensured a mere fourth-place finish. The Americans did even worse in the last World Cup; they finished seventh.
Buy Lakers TicketsAlmost right away, the alarm was sounded. LeBron James reportedly is ready to commit to playing in next year’s Summer Olympics, and he reportedly also contacted several other American-born NBA stars and superstars, who are also ready to commit.
One of those superstars is Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis.
Both James and Davis should be applauded for their patriotism, as well as their desire and willingness to rescue USA Basketball. There is simply no excuse for Team USA to not win the gold medal in almost any international competition, and both superstars want to do something about the squad’s recent failure.
However, the responsibilities James and Davis have for the Lakers should come first. Therefore neither should end up actually committing to represent the Stars and Stripes in Paris next summer.
James and Davis would be better off resting next summer
James is 38 years of age, and he will turn 39 in late December. He has an insane amount of mileage on his body, and he has been injury-prone since joining the Lakers in 2018.
Once one of the NBA’s most durable players who rarely sat out games, James has missed 27, 26 and 27 games in each of the last three seasons. He missed another 27 contests in his first season in L.A. He simply cannot be expected to keep playing at an elite level and be available for enough games if he doesn’t get enough rest, especially during the offseason.
Committing to Team USA would mean spending much of next summer preparing for and playing in the Olympics, which will end around mid-August. That would leave James with less than two months to rest and prepare for the 2024-25 NBA season.
The last time he had so little time to rest and recover in between seasons, he suffered a severe ankle injury midway through the 2020-21 season.
Davis is infamously injury-prone. Yes, he may be able to deal with a short offseason better than James, at least in terms of stamina and energy. But playing in extra games during the summer means he runs the risk of landing awkwardly and suffering some sort of serious injury that could jeopardize his availability for the following NBA campaign.
James and Davis have already done their patriotic duty
James had played in three Olympic games, and while his haters give him demerits for only winning a bronze medal in 2004, he did help the Americans claim the gold in both 2008 and 2012. His leadership early in his Team USA tenure may have been a concern, but he was the unquestioned leader during the 2012 games, and clearly, his leadership worked that year.
Davis was also on that 2012 Team USA roster. The squad burned through the competition easily and won all but two of its eight games in dominant fashion.
NBA players are prioritizing rest more than ever, which is one reason USA Basketball should prioritize NBA stars in their 20s who are better able to deal with a shorter offseason without any big risk of injury. It is time for the younger generation of standouts, such as Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker, both of whom helped Team USA win the gold in the last Olympic games, to continue to hold the proverbial torch.
Perhaps it is also time for young stars such as Mikal Bridges, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, all of whom were in the FIBA World Cup, as well as Donovan Mitchell and De’Aaron Fox, neither of whom have been with Team USA yet, to lead the Americans to Olympic gold.
For James and Davis, the time has come for them to commit — to commit to sitting on the couch for a good part of next summer while training and preparing for the following NBA season without taxing their aging bodies too much.
