After winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA’s premier players, including LeBron James and Steph Curry, ensured to keep remembrances of the achievement. A recent viral video showcases the star-studded squad exchanging customized parting gifts before heading separate ways.
The U.S. went 6-0 this summer en route to its fifth consecutive gold medal at the men’s Olympic basketball tournament. While the Americans coasted through their first four group phase and knockout-round games, they faced adversity in the semifinals and finals against Serbia and France.
Team USA overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to defeat the Serbians 95-91 on Thursday. Two days later, it dispatched the French 98-87 behind Curry’s late-game offensive flurry, securing the gold.
On Wednesday, USA Basketball’s X/Twitter account posted a heartwarming clip of its stars exchanging signed memorabilia from the tournament.
The video begins with Devin Booker getting James to autograph a USA Basketball hat. Afterward, Booker and Kevin Durant can be seen signing a golden Nike shoe for the four-time NBA MVP. Curry later gets Booker to autograph a Team USA jersey before signing another player’s shoe.
The rest of the Americans’ roster can also be viewed swapping autographed keepsakes, including jerseys, shoes, and basketballs. The squad is all smiles in the clip, seemingly showing how much the experience meant to each player.
LeBron James, Steph Curry unlikely to be part of Team USA’s 2028 Olympic roster; Kevin Durant undecided
Adding significance to Team USA’s latest gold medal victory is the likeliness of its 2028 Los Angeles Olympic roster looking very different.
Following Saturday’s Olympic final win over France, LeBron James, a three-time gold medal winner, expressed skepticism about returning for his fifth Olympics.
“Nah, I can’t see myself playing in Los Angeles 2028,” James said. “I didn’t see myself playing in Paris 2024, too. But four years from now, I can’t see it.”
Meanwhile, Steph Curry offered a similar sentiment about competing in his second Olympics.
“This might not come around again,” Curry said.
As for Kevin Durant, the U.S.’s most decorated men’s basketball Olympian with four gold medals, he opted for a wait-and-see approach.
“As far as 2028, who knows, man,” Durant said. “We’ll see.”
Curry, James, and Durant finished as Team USA’s three leading scorers this summer, averaging a combined 42.8 points per game. So, if all three aging superstars decline to return in 2028, the U.S. will be forced to usher in its next era.
Fortunately for the squad, it capitalized on perhaps the trio’s final Olympic run.
