Team USA fans shouldn't expect to see LeBron James in red, white & blue again, Jerry Colangelo, managing director of USA Basketball, told ESPN's Keishon, Javill & Zubin on Wednesday.
"You know, Father Time takes its toll," Colangelo said of the 36-year-old star. "... if you are a human, your body is built to last for so long depending on your sport, & then it's a downhill position. LeBron opted not to compete in these last couple of Olympics Chosen because he has a lot to say about the things going on in his life. So he put in his time, he made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time has run out."
James has opted out of the last two Olympic cycles, although he told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in 2016 that "every time I see him, I wish I was out there," while Team USA took the lead in Rio de Janeiro. Won gold medal in
James has 68 games with Team USA & three Olympics with international experience. He joined USA Basketball for the 2004 games in Athens, where the Americans lost their opener to Puerto Rico, skipping two more games & settling for bronze. He returned to the 2008 redeem team & won a gold medal in Beijing, then another gold medal in London four years later.
The Team USA squad for the Tokyo Games has only 2 players returning from 2016 — Kevin Durant & Draymond Green — while the inclusion of the Cleveland Cavaliers has drawn some of the highest scrutiny from James' former teammate, Kevin Love.
But Colangelo defended Love's addition to the roster, saying that Team USA needs another big man & that the American pipeline lacks as many options.
"Most of the big players in the NBA are international players. They're not American players. ... We haven't developed big players in other countries," Colangelo told Keyshon, Javill, & Zubin. The big guy can be seen as "insurance".