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Joel Embiid Says LeBron James Isn’t as Dominant as He Used to Be Ahead of Paris 2024: ‘People Get Fooled by Names’
Despite being one of the strongest national squads ever assembled, the 2024 Olympics Team USA has some aging players, including Lakers’ Lebron James.
Joel Embiid gave a nuanced, yet unexpected take on Team USA’s chances of winning the gold medal at the upcoming Paris Olympics. In a recent Interview with the New York Times’ David Marchese, Embiid delved into stories from his personal life, Paul Goerge joining him in Philadelphia, and Team USA.
Embiid’s down to earth take on LeBron’s age
When addressing the likelihood of Team USA ending up on top at Paris 2024, Embiid stated:
“You look at the team that the U.S has, but there’s also equal talent on other teams. Embiid continued, saying, “The talent that’s on the U.S team, you also got to understand that most of those guys are also older. Like the Lebron now is not the Lebron that was a couple years ago so it’s a big difference.”
Everybody else would tell and you can see for yourself, the athletic Lebron, the dominant that he was a couple years ago is not the same that he is now.”
Embiid concluded by saying, “I think people get fooled by names on paper. Those names have been built throughout their career and now they’re older. They are not what they used to be.”
Marchese expressed that he anticipated Embiid to give a cookie-cutter, ‘U.S would dominate’ kind of response. But Embiid remained even-handed and realistic in his statement.
The 7x All-Star also highlighted that most players on the roster haven’t played together and the goal is to learn from each other and win together.
ALSO READ: Joel Embiid Reveals Why He Chose to Represent Team USA over France for 2024 Paris Olympics
The reality of an aging LeBron James
There have been worries surrounding LBJ’s aging body and whether he can continue playing the way he did in his prime. King James will turn 40 this December, but based on his stats, he is still playing at an elite level for a player his age.
This past season, James played 71 games, (the most since his last season with the Cavaliers) averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. Compared to other greats that retired in late and early 40s such as Garnett, Carter, and Nowitzki, James has fared much better.
Nonetheless, he has been advised by former players and experts to retire while he is still able to play well.
There are some players aged 35 or more that will represent the USA at Paris 2024. The team is a combination of older vets and younger talents, some of whom are in their prime.
Leading up to the Olympics, Team USA has managed to display their elite potential in showcase games, beating Canada, Australia, Serbia, and South Sudan. Global basketball has gotten much more competitive in the past 30 years and will continue to ascend.
Though it’s not guaranteed that the U.S will bag their fifth consecutive olympic gold, there is no other team with the level of experience and depth.
ALSO READ: LeBron James Reaffirms His Legacy in Latest Insta Post: ‘Trying to Be the Greatest Ever’
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