The Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to begin in late July.
The Team USA roster for men’s basketball was recently finalized, and headlining the 12-man squad are players like Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and more.
However, no members of the Los Angeles Lakers made the final cut.
The two best candidates were LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but both declined to play.
James said he’d rather play for the Tune Squad instead, a reference to his movie “Space Jam: A New Legacy” that releases on July 16. Davis wasn’t expected to play because he wanted time to rest from an injury-riddled season.
In James’ case, it looks like he won’t be representing USA in the Olympics anymore.
USA Basketball Director Jerry Colangelo discussed James’ situation on ESPN’s “KJZ”:
“I think his time is over.”@usabasketball’s Managing Director Jerry Colangelo says that we’ve likely seen the end of Olympic LeBron.
(📍@MyStraightTalk) pic.twitter.com/6Hn5xGS4Mv
— Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin (@KeyJayandZ) June 30, 2021
“Father time takes its toll…if you’re a human being, your body is built to go so long depending on what you’re sport is…LeBron made choices these last couple of Olympics not to participate because he’s got a lot of things going on in his life. And so he put in his time, he made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time is over.”
James has won three medals at the Olympics during his time with Team USA. He won bronze in 2004 and gold in 2008 and 2012. The 36-year-old forward opted out of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
The next FIBA Basketball World Cup is in 2023, but it’s unclear if James will want to participate at that time. He didn’t play in the 2019 tournament as the production schedule for “Space Jam: A New Legacy” was also in motion.
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