Following a narrow win against South Sudan, Team USA sent a statement early in the game playing their last year’s rivals. Germany, led by Wagner and Schroder, was off to a competitive start, however, LeBron James and Holiday set the commanding tone in the first five minutes. On the other hand, the second unit went all in with Tatum, Adebayo, and Davis, leaving it all on the floor for a 29-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Hoopers kept the same pace in the second quarter as well. While Wagner and Schroder kept at it from the outside, the second unit did a pretty good job maintaining the lead. However, the German offense came alive in the third quarter. Led by Theis and Wagner’s three-pointers from all over the place, Germany picked up the pace to take the lead by five.

Going into the fourth quarter, Germany was up by three. The last quarter featured constant back-and-forth between the two teams, however, King James saved the day yet again. The All-time scoring leader’s 5-point stretch, including a dagger of a three-pointer, put the United States up by six with just half a minute to close. Team USA edged it out yet again against the hungry Germans, 92-88.

Led by LeBron James’ 20 points, the King earned everyone’s respect on social media. He led Team USA for the second game in a row, only this time did he have enough room to take the game-sealing shot. Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey, Andre Iguodala, Patrick Mahomes and critics took notice and praised LeBron James following a dominant performance.

“bron been hooping !! 👑” a social media super-active Ja Morant wrote, as he gears up for the next season with the Grizzlies.

“Put the team on his back…” Andre Iguodala wrote in appreciation of the King, whose name will always be associated with LeBron after the latter came flying from behind to block a layup by the Warriors’ core star, back in the 2016 NBA Finals.

“BRON SO NICE. 😂” Tyrese Maxey wrote praising the 39-year-old. LeBron James has previously lauded the Knicks star saying, “The m********ker don’t get tired,” as the King had nothing but praise for Tyrese after his playoff run this past season.

“Greatness!! 🔥🔥 @KingJames,” Patrick Mahomes quoted, who’ll forever be a fanboy of the game, candidly expressing his thoughts.

“LeBron just went into full bullyball mode against Germany in the final “friendly” before the real games start Sunday in Paris. The oldest U.S. national team player ever is still bigger and stronger than anyone guarding him, at 6-9 by 260/270 pounds,” Skip Bayless said! You’d just know that the vet has done well on the court when his biggest critic comes around praising him like an elder uncle!

It was indeed a “bully-ball” moment in the end. LeBron James really seemed to have wanted that possession that helped Team USA settle the final score. Now, these exhibition games give a lot of insight into how Team USA plans to play in the Olympics. Yes, they stumbled in the last two games pretty badly and also in the game against Australia, but still managed to win. Is the proverb, ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ accurate enough to explain Team USA’s position? As per LeBron and KD, “the real sh*t begins now!“

LeBron James and Co. will take it one game at a time

Team USA will play Serbia on July 28, who they recently faced in Abu Dhabi. They’ll have a pretty good sense of what Jokic and Co. are capable of. For the most part, it will be a different energy coming from the Serbians, but knowing what is known, Team USA should get past them. As James said, “We got 6 games. We’ll get one game at a time”. And rightfully so. South Sudan shares the same group. Now, the Sudanese came dangerously close to pulling what could’ve been the biggest upset in Team USA’s basketball history.

But then again, the squad will have to take things very-very seriously from here on, as each game will matter the most. Of course, the rotations have been talked about a lot in the past few days. However, this could only change once Kevin Durant gives any sort of update on his return. Looking back at the last two games, Team USA missed the Slim Reaper to a great extent. While LeBron James and Stephen Curry remain the core of the starting lineup, adding AD or ANT could also make a difference moving forward.

It will be interesting to see whether Steve Kerr uses a different combination alongside James in the starting lineup. Till then, the All-time scoring leader has the opening ceremony to look forward to.

The American contingent of nearly 600 athletes voted for LeBron James to be the flag-bearer, leading the United States in the ceremony! What are your thoughts on Team USA’s performance in the exhibition games? Do you think they are in trouble?

Let us know in the comments.