With the Olympics in Paris less than three months away, the USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team has been decided. This unofficial “Avengers” roster was put together in retaliation for the disastrous 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign, in which a younger USA team failed to even win a bronze medal. Among the first to say they would don the USA jersey and prove to the world that America remains the best hoops nation were LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
Gilbert Arenas recently brought attention to the other side of the controversy, which holds that LeBron James will be held accountable by the media if the team is unable to win the gold medal.
Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony with Team USA with their Gold Medals in 2012 Olympics in London
On Arenas’ podcast, Gil’s Arena, co-host Josiah Johnson posed the question, “Who is the Alpha on this team?” and “Who will be blamed for the team’s failures?” which sparked this conversation. As the team’s most seasoned and accomplished player, Rashad McCants stated that he would have had to take the blame if Kobe Bryant had not won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. McCants will therefore be subject to the same criteria as LBJ, who is in fact the team’s most experienced player.
Gilbert Arenas talks about LeBron James importance
Arenas concurred that if the United States didn’t win a gold medal, James would be targeted in the media environment of today. Arenas said,
“The reason it will be on Bron because he was the first one to come out and basically unite the team. It’ll fall on him. Let’s just be honest, there’s no way the media today would not make it fall on him. He can average 30 in the motherfu**er and still Bron’s fault. ‘Shouldn’t be averaging 30, should have been more team ball,’”
The Gil’s Arena team as a whole agreed with this idea. For present, nevertheless, the team members prioritize the 2024 NBA Larry O’Brien trophy. The top players who were left off the roster are aware that they can win in the postseason.
