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Has LeBron "proven his commitment" to Team USA?

Saskibaloia

Saskibaloia

Active member
Here's a very interesting article about LeBron James' and his reasons on why most likely he will not be representing Team USA at this year's World Championships.


Has LeBron and Co. "proven" his commitment to Team USA?

Will Jerry select him for the 2012 Olympics? or the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship if the USA do not win the World Championships?

Finally, will we ever see LeBron in a Team USA jersey again?
 
My responses to my questions

My responses to my questions

In terms of whether or not he has "proven" his commitment to Team USA and USA Basketball, I believe that he has "done" what was asked of him BUT of course, all basketball fans around the world would love to see the best that Team USA can offer thus, on a fan level we would like him to be there and he hasn't given enough but on a player level he has given his time for the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2006 World Championships, 2007 FIBA Americas Championships AND the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In total, his participation in these FIBA events is a lot if you compare it to some other NBA Superstars. Thus, I can see why he believes he has "proven" his commitment to Team USA and USA Basketball. Furthermore, we all know that the NBA season is a very long season and demands a lot of any player to play night in and night out especially when one is pursuing the ultimate NBA prize: Championship.

Secondly, I do believe that Jerry C will stand by his policy and ensure that nobody is treated in a "special" way in terms of selection and that in case Team USA does not win the World Championships this time, he would not select LeBron for the 2011 FIBA Americas Championships, even though LeBron is an excellent choice and one of a few US players with immense international experience.

Finally, I believe that we will never see LeBron in another Team USA jersey. He is 100% focused on the goals of the Cavs and is aiming to dominate the next decade and cement himself as one of the greatest players of all time. In his list of goals, I cannot imagine LeBron putting the World Championship Title or another Olympic Gold Medal as part of his "things to do" for the next 10 years. I believe he should however, many of these NBA Superstars are so focused on the upcoming NBA season that a few months of rest is the desired option rather than to play for one's country.
 
I believe he has proven his commitment. The list of players who have played as many games for the USA national team as him is pretty short. He ran through a full cycle from 2006-2008, after already competing in 2004. While I don't want to hand him a spot without question for 2012, there's no doubt he has been loyal to the national team.
 
Dtown said:
I believe he has proven his commitment. The list of players who have played as many games for the USA national team as him is pretty short. He ran through a full cycle from 2006-2008, after already competing in 2004. While I don't want to hand him a spot without question for 2012, there's no doubt he has been loyal to the national team.
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I agree and disagree. He did his first three years, as you said, but then I just assumed all the players were recommitting to another three years. If he did not recommit, that's fine, but he should understand that, as Colangelo said, it won't guarantee him a spot on the '12 team.

I think Jorge Sierra from HoopsHype wrote something like "what if Diedir Drogba said he wouldn't play for Ivory Coast in South Africa because he's going to make a movie?" People would be appalled. There is a different expectation for the US, which is filled with superstars, but what if England went without David Beckham because he wanted to make a movie? People would be appalled.

I'm not appalled, though. I say, if he wants to go, he should go. If he doesn't want to go this summer, he might be choosing not to go to '12 London.
 
mvblair said:
If he did not recommit, that's fine, but he should understand that, as Colangelo said, it won't guarantee him a spot on the '12 team.
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Well, no one should be guaranteed a spot on any team two years in advance.

I think Jorge Sierra from HoopsHype wrote something like "what if Diedir Drogba said he wouldn't play for Ivory Coast in South Africa because he's going to make a movie?"
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But in soccer, the World Cup has, for players and fans, a much greater stature than the basketball WC has in the US. Frankly, now that America has been reminded how much they hate K, I expect a lot of people in the US who care about the tournament to be rooting against him this summer...
 
robbe said:
What did he do wrong?
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People hate Duke on principle (rich private school + nasty habit of being really good), now that they won the National Title again there's bound to be some coach K hate.

That said I doubt any of it would really transfer to the national team, when people watch Team USA they do it for the players not the coach.
 
Dtown said:
People hate Duke on principle (rich private school + nasty habit of being really good), now that they won the National Title again there's bound to be some coach K hate.
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I'd say a combination of fawning media coverage (Dukie V!) which often comes with an implication that they are superior people as well as a good basketball team. Plus going back to Laettner they have always had at least one eminently hateable player on their team. They're like Notre Dame football and Lance Armstrong rolled into one.

They are often perceived to get a lot of favorable treatment too.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/03/13/1813273/ncaa-caves-to-tv-pressure-by-going.html
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/ncaa--refs-lay-red-carpet-for-duke-89380327.html

OTOH, Deadspin argues that this year's team was more likeable than previous editions:
http://deadspin.com/5507494/letter-...nt-hate-duke-and-why-you-probably-will-anyway
 
Franz said:
It seems like Lebron has Colangelo on a leash. He (Colangelo) is changing his stance on recent comments involving players skipping the WC.

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2010/04/05/13472371.html

Like I said before, will Lebron, Wade, or Bosh take the spots of three deserving players in 2012?
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The whole thing seems like a non-story to me. First Colangelo said that guys who don't play this summer aren't guaranteed spots in 2012, which should have been obvious to begin with. Now he says that they won't necessarily be excluded from 2012, which doesn't contradict his earlier statement.
 
As far as Coach K goes, I'll admit that I dislike him because he coaches Duke. I'm sure he's a great coach, obviously he is a brilliant coach, but I really wanted Butler to win last night. :D I'm not saying that I will root against our US NT, but I won't exactly be rooting for them either.

No, the basketball WC and the soccer WC are not comparable, that's true. The soccer Olympics is probably more comparable.
JGX said:
The whole thing seems like a non-story to me. First Colangelo said that guys who don't play this summer aren't guaranteed spots in 2012, which should have been obvious to begin with. Now he says that they won't necessarily be excluded from 2012, which doesn't contradict his earlier statement.
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You're absolutely right. It probably should be a non-story. Colangelo is a smart man and he's going to do what's best for our team.
 
JGX said:
The whole thing seems like a non-story to me. First Colangelo said that guys who don't play this summer aren't guaranteed spots in 2012, which should have been obvious to begin with. Now he says that they won't necessarily be excluded from 2012, which doesn't contradict his earlier statement.
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Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows how to comprehend. This is basically what I put in another post. This is such an ESPN (and others) driven non-story and it is amusing how people on this site (and others) are falling for it.

Lebron will be on the team unless he doesn't want to.
 
Czarkazem13 said:
Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows how to comprehend. This is basically what I put in another post. This is such an ESPN (and others) driven non-story and it is amusing how people on this site (and others) are falling for it.

Lebron will be on the team unless he doesn't want to.
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I totally agree. This is much to do about nothing, and basically manufactured by the hype machine that is ESPN. Unless he's injuried or has a serious family issue, he and Wade will be on the London team regardless if they play this summer or not.

Plus, the NBA desperately wants a larger presents in the British market, so keeping marquee players off the team by the time 2012 rolls around doesn't help the league achieve that.
 
I don't think anyone is going to blame Dwade for not participating when he's going to be battling for custody of his children. He didn't even confirm he's not playing despite having a perfectly fine reason not to.
 
Dtown said:
I don't think anyone is going to blame Dwade for not participating when he's going to be battling for custody of his children. He didn't even confirm he's not playing despite having a perfectly fine reason not to.
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Fair enough, hopefully it turns out well for him.
 
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