LeBron James may have sat out the last two Olympics but the NBA's all-time leading scorer is reportedly interested in making a return to the international stage with USA Basketball at the 2024 Paris Games.
Citing unnamed sources, ESPN said James is among a number of top American players who are interested in competing in Paris while The Athletic said the Los Angeles Lakers forward has already called multiple stars in a bid to recruit them.
James led Team USA to the top of the podium in Beijing (2008) and London (2012) and also won a bronze at Athens in 2004 but the NBA's all-time leading scorer did not play for the gold medal-winning American sides in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 or in Tokyo in 2021.
The 38-year-old reached out to Kevin Durant, among others, and the two players are viewing the Paris Games as a "last dance" with USA Basketball, sources told The Athletic.
According to The Athletic, James has also spoken to Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green, who are all prepared to commit as well.
Curry has never represented the United States at an Olympics but ESPN said the NBA's all-time leader in three-pointers has expressed an interest in playing for Steve Kerr, his Golden State Warriors coach.
James' push to recruit players is believed to have started well before an all-NBA United States team lost in the bronze medal game of the recently-concluded FIBA Basketball World Cup, won by their semi-final conquerors Germany, and is not related to that team's result.
