The NBA icon and member of USA’s men’s basketball team will carry the flag for the red, white and blue in Paris after being selected to serve as the male flagbearer for the Americans at the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Lakers legend, 39, becomes the third basketball player — and the first men’s player — to carry the US flag at the start of an Olympics. He will join Dawn Staley for the Athens Games in 2004 and Sue Bird for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.
‘It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,’ James said.
‘For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations. Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.’
The female flagbearer has not yet been announced but is expected to be revealed on Tuesday.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading points scorer, has walked with his fellow Americans at the opening ceremonies of his three previous games, having been part of the teams that won bronze in 2004, gold at Beijing in 2008 and gold again in London in 2012.
This time, however, he will float. Paris has concocted an opening ceremony like no other with thousands of athletes will sail down the River Seine at sunset toward the Eiffel Tower down a six-kilometer (3.7-mile) route.
James and the four-time defending gold medalist US men don’t open their Olympic campaign until Sunday, clearing them to participate in the opening ceremony.
Athletes who compete the day after the ceremony usually don’t participate due to logistical reasons, which rules out France’s own NBA star, the 2023 No. 1 Draft pick Victor Wembanyama, with the hosts beginning play Saturday.
The US delegation will be on the second-to-last boat in the parade of nations on the Seine River, with the order based on the USA serving as host to the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Host country France will be celebrated last.
The Opening Ceremony will be held Friday on the Seine River beginning at 7:30pm local time in Paris (1:30pm ET) and will be broadcast live on NBC.
New of the honor reached James Monday morning in London where he and Team USA are scheduled to play their final tuneup in an Olympics exhibition game against World Cup champion Germany.
The Americans will look to brush off the huge scare they suffered against South Sudan at the weekend.
Eight days before their opener at the Paris Games, James, Steph Curry and co were forced to dig deep in a dramatic 101-100 win over the world’s 33rd-ranked side in London, coming back from a 14-point halftime deficit.
South Sudan, who only have two players with NBA experience in Carlik Jones and Wenyen Gabriel, even took the lead in the final 20 seconds against a team packed with the league’s biggest stars.
However, with eight seconds remaining LeBron showed why he is regarded by some as the greatest player of all time, with the Lakers icon pulling out a game-winning layup right at the death to spare USA’s blushes.
And, Joel Embiid, who chose to represent the USA over France and Cambodia, admitted the Americans aren’t necessarily the heavy favorites they’re expected to be.
‘You look at the talent that the U.S. has, but there’s equal talent on other teams,’ Embiid told the New York Times. ‘And the talent that’s on the U.S. team, you also got to understand most of those guys are older.’
‘The LeBron now is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago,’ Embiid said. ‘So it’s a big difference. Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now.’
‘I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be,’ Embiid concluded.
