Seems like being in London works for LeBron James. Playing in the same building as he did during the 2012 London Olympics — O2 Arena, which was called North Greenwich Arena during those games a dozen years ago — James came up big down the stretch on Saturday, hitting the game-winning layup in a 101-100 win over South Sudan.
United States’ forward LeBron James, left and United States’ guard Stephen Curry shake hands during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan , at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024. United States’ head coach Steve Kerr gestures to his players during an exhibition basketball game between the United States and South Sudan , at the o2 Arena in London, Saturday, July 20, 2024.
Seems like being in London works for King James. Playing in the same building as he did during the 2012 London Olympics — O2 Arena, which was called North Greenwich Arena during those games a dozen years ago — James came up big down the stretch. In that gold medal game against Spain in 2012, James hit a game-sealing 3-pointer with about 2 minutes left to cap a season where he won NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, an NBA title with the Miami Heat and Olympic gold.South Sudan got this Olympic berth based on its World Cup finish last year. Its national federation is led by former NBA player Luol Deng, and the team is coached by former NBA guard and now Houston assistant coach Royal Ivey.
“To have that representation, to have that type of leadership over there, teaching them the right way how to play the game, that’s good. That’s great, actually,” James said. “The game is worldwide. There’s not one place that you don’t see the game being played. I think that’s the beauty of it. The game of basketball brings together so many people.”Kevin Durant was on the floor getting some warmup shots up, but the Americans were again without the three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Durant returned to practice Friday after about three weeks of dealing with a calf strain. It’s possible that he plays in the final U.S. tune-up on Monday against Germany in London. Otherwise, he’ll go into the Olympics not having gotten any true game action since April 28 when his Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.South Sudan made 14 3-pointers, while the U.S. made seven. The U.S. reserves were 1 for 11 from beyond the arc.
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