Team USA men’s basketball has been looking good over the last few days after seeming wobbly and vulnerable during its five exhibition games earlier this month. On Sunday, it blew out Serbia, and on Wednesday, it notched another easy win, this time over South Sudan.
It nearly lost to South Sudan nearly two weeks ago when LeBron James saved the day with a game-winning shot. This time, James was able to kick back a bit offensively and merely fill up the stat sheet.
He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and in doing so, he joined Carmelo Anthony and current Olympic teammate Kevin Durant as the only men in Team USA history to score at least 300 points in the Olympics.
One has to assume James appreciates reaching that mark. But he said he’s keeping the main thing the main thing — namely, winning the gold medal.
Via Eurohoops:
“Oh, not much,” James said when asked what that milestone meant to him. “I mean, at the end of the day, I just want to, you know, win. I mean, I’m here to win and win the gold, and that’s my only mindset. It’s not even about scoring, it’s not about any of the stats, all the stats that pretty much don’t show up, you know, closing out, you know, getting, you know, hockey assists if possible, just stopping guys from crashing the glass. So it’s definitely an honor any time you hear your name in it, in any type of record books, but at the end of the day I’m here for a bigger picture, for sure.”
The 39-year-old could’ve decided to dominate the team by looking to score lots of points at the expense of other areas of his game. But as he has often done over the years, he has simply looked to make the right plays.
On Wednesday, he was fourth on Team USA in scoring. Six men scored in double figures, and Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo led the way with 18 points.
This win allowed the United States to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. It will next face Puerto Rico on Saturday.
