Grant Hill, the managing director of the USA men’s national team and former NBA star, revealed that he had some uncertainty about how well veterans LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant would play in the Olympics.
“I respect how hard it is to be excellent at that age,” Hill said in an interview with The Athletic.
“I also know, like, it can be exhausting, and the summer is an important part of your preparation for the upcoming NBA season. So I didn’t know what they had. Like I didn’t know fully what level they would play at. You can hope that they play at a certain level. So there was some uncertainty, I’ll be honest.”
James, who is the oldest of the bunch, has been terrific in the Olympics, currently holding the No. 1 spot on FIBA’s Olympic MVP ladder.
LeBron James is ranked No. 1 on FIBA’s Olympic MVP ladder ⭐️
Still dominating at 39 years old. pic.twitter.com/rQfvxwrOPN
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 7, 2024
Durant dealt with a calf injury that kept him out of games until Team USA’s Olympic opener against Serbia, but he promptly went 8-for-9 from the field and scored 23 points in a 26-point win.
During Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Brazil on Tuesday, Durant broke Lisa Leslie’s record to become the leading scorer all-time in USA Olympic history.
Records are meant to be broken, I’ll hold on to this until another great comes along and passes me up…Lisa Leslie you are the gold standard in basketball, I appreciate your love and support throughout the years..much love to you always…it’s all about the gold baby. Let’s get… pic.twitter.com/huJxy8Qywa
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 7, 2024
Curry hasn’t been as dominant as James or Durant, but he did score seven points on three shots against Brazil and his ability to shoot the 3-ball helps extend defenses for Team USA.
It’s fair that Hill was skeptical about how all three veterans would respond to playing in the Olympics, especially since they all have a lot of miles on their bodies from the championship runs they’ve made throughout their careers.
With Team USA playing well so far in Paris, it appears that Hill made the right decision by letting all three superstars play this summer.
“Maybe it’s being paranoid, but what if LeBron at 39 1/2 years old, can’t be at that level? Then what?” Hill asked before pointing out that the opposite has actually happened. “He’s far exceeded that, and if anything he came in (to training camp) in probably the best shape (of any player on Team USA). He was the best player in the exhibition games and at times has been our best player in (Olympic) games thus far.”
Team USA has a ton of talent, but it also faces a lot of challenges with so many stars on one team. Both Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid have sat out games – Tatum against Serbia and Embiid against South Sudan – due to the matchups and the plethora of talent on the roster.
Every player hasn’t been able to play his usual role on his respective NBA team, but the group that Hill built has clearly meshed enough to be within two wins of the gold.
Durant, James and Curry may be in the twilight of their basketball careers, but all three are showing that they can still be the faces of American basketball in the Olympics.
