As a reward for leading Team USA to a gold medal in Paris, LeBron James was named the 2024 Olympic MVP.
Afterwards, James spoke to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears about receiving the award, saying:
“It’s an honor. I don’t know who the voting committee, or whatever the case may be, but super-humbled that they even voted for me. But it came with us winning gold and that’s what’s more important for me. It’s pretty cool …
James also gave credit to his family and his opponents, thanking his wife —Savannah James (née: Brinson) —for handling the business and complimenting the Paris Olympics field for their competitiveness and love of the sport.
LeBron James Opens Up After Beating Out Superstars For Olympics MVP
Beating out a field that included Team USA teammate Stephen Curry, France’s Victor Wembanyama, and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, the 39-year-old continues to leave hoops fans in awe. Of course, there are some who believe that Curry and Jokic should’ve won the award. Without Curry’s hot shooting, Team USA might have lost to Serbia and France in the semifinal and final round, respectively. Jokic led the 2024 Olympics in points, rebounds, and assists. Serbia left Paris with bronze medals despite having fewer NBA players on their roster than the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
Nonetheless, James’s nomination was a byproduct of the consistent dominance that he’s long been known for. Averaging 14.2 points, 8.5 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on 66.0 percent shooting from the field, James never recorded below 10 points, five assists, or shot below 55 percent in any game.
LEBRON JAMES BEHIND THE BACK ASSIST TO DEVIN BOOKER. 😤🇺🇸
📺 NBC and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/Bvzu5KvUxX
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2024
TOUGH FINISH + THE FOUL. LEBRON JAMES WANTS A GOLD MEDAL.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/BSJw1758mB
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2024
The same can’t be said for Curry or Jokic.
The Chef and The Joker’s Struggles
As Team USA’s Anthony Edwards humorously alluded to, Curry was quiet until their last two games.
“My boy just got to Paris 3 days ago but we so glad he got here”😂
— Anthony Edwards on Stephen Curry pic.twitter.com/YIKeZLSjra
— BASKETBALL ON 𝕏 (@BASKETBALLonX) August 10, 2024
Averaging 7.3 points per game on 25.0 percent shooting from 3, his reputation was more effective than his actual play. He obviously made up for it in the end. Still, there’s not a single person who had Curry in the Olympic MVP conversation heading into gold medal game.
Meanwhile, Jokic’s worst performance came against Team USA in the semifinals.
Though he tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, he was uncharacteristically inefficient. The three-time NBA MVP shot just 41.2 percent from the field, missing all six of his 3-pointers. He was outplayed by Joel Embiid, who scored 19 points for Team USA on 72.7 percent shooting from the field. To cap it all off, Jokic was a -10, the only game in which he recorded a negative plus-minus in the Paris Olympics.
Nonetheless, with five NBA MVP awards between them, neither Curry nor Jokic are stinging from being outvoted for the Olympic MVP award.
