“I’m 39 years old and going into my 22nd [NBA] season,” the basketball star said after Team USA’s semifinal win
The 2024 Paris Olympics are likely the last for LeBron James.
After the 39-year-old basketball star helped lead Team USA to a hair-raising comeback from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of the semifinal game against Serbia, James explained why this Olympic Games means so much to him in the later part of his career.
“I’m 39 years old and going into my 22nd [NBA] season,” James told reporters, including PEOPLE, after the narrow victory. “I don’t know how many opportunities and moments I’m gonna get… just to be able to compete for something big and playing big games — and tonight was a big game.”
There to watch the Lakers star’s “big game” in the Paris Olympics were sons Bryce, 17, and Bronny James, 19, who cheered on their dad from the stands at Bercy Arena in Paris.
James said he and his teammates “knew it was going to be a challenge” in the semifinal round against Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, calling the 95-91 victory “a big-time win for us.”
“It’s good to be tested,” he added of the matchup, which saw Team USA down big until the final minutes of the game, when a Stephen Curry steal led to a two-point advantage for the U.S.
James said he and his team are “one game away” from their “ultimate goal,” referring to the gold medal, for which they’ll compete on Saturday, Aug. 10 in the final game against France.
“We look forward to the matchup,” said James, calling the French team — including 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama, 20, and four-time NBA defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert, 32 — “super competitive” and a group that has “been playing together for a while.”
James also noted that Team France will have the home court advantage on Saturday. “They’ve been feeding off the crowd,” he told reporters after the semifinal.
“It’s all about competitive flow, competitive juices and just trying to get everything as close to perfection as possible, just trying to be aggressive and make plays for our team, try to do a little bit of everything out on the floor. My teammates believed in me and I was able to come through for them,” the four-time NBA MVP concluded.
