LeBron James entered the Olympics having already won five different MVP awards in his legendary basketball career: four of the regular-season and Finals vintage, three from the All-Star Game, and one each from the In-Season Tournament and the McDonald’s All-America Game. On Saturday, he added another MVP award to his collection. After Team USA defeated France to win its fifth-consecutive gold medal, James took home the Olympics MVP award.
The Olympics MVP award has been handed out only three times. It was conceived in 2004 and given to Manu Ginobili, who led Argentina to gold, but was then scrapped for 2008, 2012 and 2016. It was revived for Tokyo in 2021 and won by Kevin Durant. Now, James has won it is well.
James averaged 14.2 points on 66% shooting in the tournament, adding 8.5 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game as well. In Thursday’s semifinal victory over Serbia, James posted the fourth triple-double in Olympic history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He was the offensive engine for Team USA, serving as its point guard and primary ball-handler throughout the tournament.
Still, one of his teammates did manage to make a real run at the MVP award in the final two games. Though Stephen Curry started slow, he made 17 3-pointers in the final two games of the tournament. His 36 points saved Team USA against Serbia, and the four 3s he made down the stretch against France held off a rally and secured gold for the Americans. Ultimately, he fell just short.
That doesn’t mean Curry leaves the tournament without individual recognition, though. He was one of five players named to the All-Star Five from the Olympics. There, he was joined by his Team USA teammate James, semifinal opponent Nikola Jokic, gold medal game opponent Victor Wembanyama and fourth-place finisher Dennis Schroder, who led Germany to victory at the World Cup last summer and nearly to another medal in Paris.
From a legacy standpoint, James had much more to lose than gain by participating in the Olympics. He is 39 years old. He already had two gold medals and four NBA championships. He had nothing to prove, but had Team USA lost, he certainly would have taken a fair share of blame. But James still played, and he proved that even as he pushes 40, he is capable of being the best player in the world when he needs to be. This MVP award may be the last he ever wins, and if that’s the case, it’s the cherry on top of an already remarkable career.
