Sha’Carri Richardson and the star-studded U.S. women’s relay team featuring Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry cruised to first place in the 4×100 relay event, running a season-best 41.78 and securing the gold medal. Sha’Carri has dazzled the Olympics with her nails and after securing her maiden Olympic gold, she even got the adulation of the NBA world, including Team USA’s flag-bearer, LeBron James, and legend Magic Johnson.

Fresh off of the scintillating win over Serbia, LeBron James and Team USA are on a high before going into their gold medal game. But LeBron kept his focus on the track and field as well. Following the relay event, the 4-time NBA champion congratulated Sha’Carri Richardson on the win by sharing a post on his Instagram story. LBJ captioned it with four hailing emojis and a gold medal. The main post had Sha’Carri’s picture with “Tough as nails” written over it.

Magic Johnson also joined the fray to congratulate the 24-year-old athlete. In his X post, the NBA icon wrote, “Congratulations to Melissa Jefferson, Tee Tee Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Sha’carri Richardson for winning gold in the 4×100 relay!” The U.S. women finished second in the Tokyo Olympics last time, so it was a moment of fulfillment for the track and field community. The NBA figures identified that and expressed their pride, as the USA racked up the gold count.

After the veterans, it was time for a present star to share the felicitation, as Jarred Vanderbilt took it upon himself and shared a message for Sha’Carri through his IG account. The forward shared a post on his story and captioned it, “Cold.” The post showed the final moment of the race when Sha’Carri turned to see her opponent’s position before crossing the line in the pouring rain in Paris.

The USAB men’s team has been a constant support to their fellow USA athletes. Steph Curry and Devin Booker showed their support for Simone Biles, Kevin Durant cheered on the 3×3 basketball team, and Anthony Edwards was in attendance to spur the table tennis team.

But August 11 will be the day for Team USA to clinch the gold themselves, as they will face France in Bercy Arena.

LeBron James and Co. get ready to face France for gold medal

When asked about the host nations’ performance in the Olympics, LeBron James was far from impressed. But that was the case before France’s semifinal game against Germany. His view must have changed by now. France’s performance in the semi-final wasn’t limited to the court only, as the crowd acted as the 6th man to create an intimidating atmosphere.

The crowd will surely be at it again on Saturday. It was Team USA that vanquished France’s gold medal hopes in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when the two teams faced in the final. This adds a layer of historical importance to the game from the French perspective, which only heightens the stake.

“For us, all of us, staff, players, it’s a dream to be able to play the finals in Paris,” France HC Vincent Collet said before the semifinal. “That’s what we said before the [semi-final]. I asked the players, ‘Are you going to let the German team steal the finals from your hands?’ They were answering, ‘No, no way, no way, we die on the court, no way.'” This is how they’re treating it.

LeBron James, who might be playing his last Olympic game, is also poised for the match with a simple message, “1 more”. One more win, one more gold medal, one more achievement for the 39-year-old LeBron to silently solidify his case in the GOAT debate. Do you think Team USA will bag another gold medal in the Paris Olympics? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.