GAME FACE
‘It’s about time!’ LeBron James greets teammates ahead of first Olympics in 12 years as NBA legend targets gold in Paris
Team USA will play five warm-up games before their Olympics opener later this month
NBA superstar LeBron James has linked up with Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The 39-year-old is preparing for his first Olympic Games since winning gold at London 2012.
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LeBron met up with his teammates in Las Vegas on Friday as they assembled for a pre-tournament training camp.
Team USA basketball is being coached by Steve Kerr and is targeting a fifth-straight Olympic gold.
Four-time NBA champion LeBron was welcomed by stars including Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, and Devin Booker.
He was seen hugging and joking as the team looked ahead to their first training game against Canada on July 10.
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"I wanna have a good summer," LeBron joked after seeing his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Davis in the viral video.
"And there's no way I can have a good summer with this guy here, man!"
Golden State Warriors superstar Curry later referenced LeBron's 12-year absence from Olympic teams.
"About time!" he said, embracing James.
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"Please tell me the @netflix camera are filming the most amazing documentary ever through all of this," responded one fan on X.
"It’s just different when GOAT James pulls up," said another.
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"Na man I just fainted from the aura," joked a third.
"That team is ridiculous!" gasped a fourth.
Later in the clip, LeBron is asked what he's most "looking forward to" in Paris.
"Just playing ball," he responded, adding, "That's what I loved to do. It's gonna be fun."
Following their training camp in Vegas, the team will fly to Abu Dhabi, UAE, and then London, England.
Time for LeBron to retire?
"At the end of the day, I hate to say it, but I believe this in my soul right now - I wish LeBron James would retire.
"Not because I don't want to see more of LeBron James, not because I don't appreciate LeBron James.
"But I honestly believe deep down inside, the more LeBron James continues to play the game of basketball, the more it's going to hurt his legacy and the more it's going to continue to hurt his GOAT argument.
"As long as he steps foot on that floor, every single season, there's gonna expectations of him winning a championship.
"And when he don't do that, we're gonna be looking at him saying: 'Well what happened now?'"
ESPN star Kendrick Perkins speaking on First Take about LeBron James' future in the NBA
Team USA will play five warm-up games in total before beginning their quest for gold on July 28 against Serbia in Lille, France.
LeBron and Curry are joined by a host of current NBA stars reminiscent of the 1992 Dream Team that won gold in Barcelona.
Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday are on the plane after winning the NBA title with the Boston Celtics last season.
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves are also heading to Europe.
LeBron recently penned a two-year extension with the Lakers worth $104 million.
The new deal will see him stay in California to play alongside his son Bronny, 19.
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Bronny was selected as the No. 55 overall pick in last week's NBA Draft in New York.
A guard out of USC, he has reportedly been handed a four-year, $7.9 million contract.
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