Lakers star LeBron James has reached another incredible milestone, this time as a member of Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 39-year-old, regarded by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time, holds countless accolades and achievements throughout his storied 21-year professional career. He added another one of them during Team USA’s second group stage game against South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Wednesday, July 31.
James became the third player in Team USA men’s basketball history to score 300 points in all Summer Games editions, joining his current Olympic teammate Kevin Durant and fellow 2003 draft class member Carmelo Anthony. Needing only six points to break the 300-point mark, James put up 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, adding seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal as Team USA claimed a resounding 103-86 victory against the African nation.
The Akron, Ohio native previously suited up for Team USA in the Olympics in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012, scoring a total of 273 points during those tournaments. The four-time NBA Finals MVP made his return to the Olympic stage after 12 years last Sunday, July 28 against Serbia, where he dropped 21 points during their 110-84 opening win.
LeBron James Dismisses Historic Team USA Olympic Milestone
Despite achieving another sensational feat, the 20-time NBA All-Star downplayed passing the 300-point mark when asked about how much it meant to him, choosing to focus on the bigger picture of winning the gold medal, per Eurohoops.
“Oh, not much. I mean, at the end of the day, I just want to, you know, win. I mean, I’m here to win and win the gold, and that’s my only mindset. It’s not even about scoring, it’s not about any of the stats, all the stats that pretty much don’t show up, you know, closing out, you know, getting, you know, hockey assists if possible, just stopping guys from crashing the glass. So it’s definitely an honor any time you hear your name in it, in any type of record books, but at the end of the day I’m here for a bigger picture, for sure.”
James is aiming for his third Olympic gold medal this year, having previously won in 2008 and 2012. He also holds a bronze medal from the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championships (now known as the FIBA World Cup).
The King is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs despite playing with a pass-first mentality throughout his career.
Kevin Durant extends lead as all-time Team USA leading Olympic scorer
Meanwhile, Durant, who became Team USA’s all-time leading Olympic scorer during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), is continuing to widen his gap among the rest of the field. The 35-year-old had scored 435 points during his four Olympic appearances in London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020. Durant added to his all-time tally with a 23-point outing against Serbia and a 14-point performance over South Sudan, bringing his total to 472 so far. Anthony is second in this regard, having scored 336 points across four Olympic appearances in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
