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LeBron James 'did not retire from Team USA,' possibly eyes 2020
Any competitor that walks away from his or her sport, be it a retiree following a decades-long career or a weary power forward that begged out of an All-Star Game due to knee tendinitis, still gets a bit of a pang when they’re watching from afar what they just asked out of.
LeBron James, currently, is in the middle of those two examples, but he’s still feeling the same pangs. After taking part in the Men’s Basketball portion of the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, the 31-year old James decided to step aside in order to let a younger generation attempt to defend Team USA’s gold medal. Also contributing to the summer off was the knowledge that he’d have to rest his veteran body in anticipation of defending his and Cleveland’s 2016 NBA championship.
James, however, wants everyone to know that he’s not exactly done with international competition. As transcribed by Chris Fedor at Cleveland.com:
“Every time I watch ’em I wish I was out there,” James said in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, which will air on Good Morning America Thursday. “I did not retire from Team USA. I just did not play this summer. So I still left the door open.”
James will be 35 during the summer of 2020. If he decided to take part in the summer of 2020, he would tie Larry Bird as the oldest Team USA Men’s Basketball member in the Americans’ history; with both turning 36 a few months after the Olympiad.
That’s presuming Team USA would have him, which they no doubt would. Not only does LeBron wear the same shoe that USA Basketball is bent on showcasing abroad, but his do-everything touch would fit right in even if we start to see a decline in James’ game starting during the 2016-17 season.
That idea seems laughable, considering how he freakishly dominated both the victorious 2016 NBA Finals and the injury-plagued Cleveland loss during the 2015 Finals turn, but we should remind again that there is a good reason James is stepping aside this summer. It’s not just because he’s a swell guy looking to give Harrison Barnes a free trip to Brazil.
LeBron James led the NBA in minutes and minutes per game all the way back in 2004-05, his second season in the league, following his first turn with Team USA in Athens, which followed a whirlwind rookie year as a professional. His next playoff game will be his 200th, the equivalent of two and a half more NBA seasons tacked onto the 13 he’s already played. Since 2010-11, the average date that his season has ended on is June 18.
As has been stated before, he’s the oldest 31-year old in NBA history. And unless an incredible string of bad luck hits, or a heretofore unparalleled system of regular season rest and relaxation is established, he’ll be the oldest 32 and 33-year old in the NBA. By the end of his newly-signed contract in 2019, there might actually be an Eastern Conference contender worth mentioning. Danny Ainge and the Celtics would have to swing a trade by then, right?
The Banana Boat machinations that could take place between now and then are too silly to try and get into at this point, and not just because Cavalier teammate Kyrie Irving made the Game 7 shot that clinched the championship this year, and Kevin Love locked down the MVP defensively down the stretch of the same contest. James and his beautiful mind have surprised us before, and friends will be friends.
What is worth anticipating is the idea that LeBron James, given the expected decline, would be not only welcomed by Team USA back into its ranks in 2020, but a more than worthy candidate. Given current projections, he’d certainly be among the top 12 American-born NBA stars available that summer, and the usual rash of 30-something stars sitting out would only create more room in the pool.
As a show, we’d certainly welcome it. From what we’ve seen from the guy, participation in 2024 shouldn’t seem too farfetched a notion either.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
