It’s gotta be the shoes.
With these metallic gold sneakers on, of course LeBron James wasn’t leaving Bercy Arena with anything less than an Olympic crown.
The Lakers superstar won his third Olympic gold medal on Saturday, leading the United States to a 98-87 win over host nation France. The United States has won five consecutive gold medals, with the last two coming over France.
James, who scored 14 points with nine assists and six rebounds, won his first since 2012. Fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis anchored the defense against French star Victor Wembanyama with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Twelve years ago, the future Lakers teammates won their first gold medal together.
Stephen Curry put an emphatic exclamation point on his first Olympic Games, hitting four three-pointers in the last 2:57 to seal the win. After draining his third as the shotclock expired, U.S. teammates mimicked Curry’s famous “night-night” celebration, holding their hands together as if they were sleeping on a pillow.
James led the United States to an eight-point halftime lead. He elegantly wrapped perfect bounce passes around his back and slapped shots away for impeccably timed blocks as the Americans used their balance and depth to jump ahead.
Meanwhile, Guerschon Yabusele used all his might to keep the United States from running away.
The stalky power forward, a son of a professional Congolese boxer, tried to match every American haymaker with a punch of his own. After James had swatted one of his shots and plowed over him with a spin move in the lane, Yabusele answered by dunking on the Lakers superstar, drawing a foul and finishing the three-point play. Scoring 11 of his 15 first-half points during the second quarter, the 6-foot-8 power forward drew “M-V-P” chants from the crowd trying to will the host nation to its first Olympic basketball gold medal.
WIth France trailing by six with 3:32 remaining, Yabusele was fouled on a drive to the basket and instead of falling to the ground, he steadied himself, wiped his chin and shouted to the fans waving French flags right behind the basket. They all rose to their feet.
France cut the lead to three as the crowd roared with 2:57 left. Curry then silenced them with a three-pointer, holding his hands close to the ground as he ran back up court.