In his Olympic return, LeBron James made a strong Olympic return with 21 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes. Despite a shaky start with Serbia leading 10-2, Team USA, aided by Kevin Durant’s performance off the bench, secured a commanding 110-84 victory. This first game echoed the challenges faced during exhibition matches.

Speaking about the Team USA basketball performance, here at EssentiallySports, we have a legendary athlete who provided a similar insight on the team. Rick Macci, known for training the William sisters, and others also played as a point guard in his high school days. When asked about the chances of Team USA bringing the gold home once again, the USPTA Hall Of Famer was hopeful, cautious, and emotional at the same time.

Macci: “Absolutely, you know I think first off in basketball, USA, basketball should never lose in my opinion. But I think it’s a tribute just like the game of tennis.” Explaining how men’s USA players haven’t won a grand slam since 2003 is a testament to other countries. “If you’re an athlete, why can’t you be an athlete in Sudan or Germany or all these other countries have athletes and you practice so the US has kind of inspired the rest of the world.” Also, sharing one slight concern of his regarding the team.

“But all that being said, basketball is a little trickier. It’s not individual, it’s a team, and being a team is much different than just having the five best players you know on the team. But at the end of the day they should they should win the gold. They’re expected to win the gold um and my bet is they will win the gold.”

The tricky part can be not all players getting the chance to play, or the team finding it difficult to find the synergy. It happened during the exhibition game against South Sudan. Where LeBron James’ clutch display helped the team achieve a 1-point victory.

LeBron James comes clutch but the controversy still surrounds Team USA

Coach Steve Kerr was not overly impressed by his team’s display and was not overly critical of the game. Stating that “This was the first game where we felt it was in doubt. It’s good for us to feel it now. We’re going to feel it again. It’s good to be challenged.” The Lakers star was the highest-scoring player for the team during the exhibition games and was quick to show support to the 33rd-ranked nation.

“Don’t take nothing away from South Sudan,” King James said. “They played extremely good basketball and that’s why the game is won in between the lines and not all on paper.” While LeBron James was respectful about the close match, many legends weren’t. Thus, the president of the federation and former NBA player Luol Deng had to step in.

Thus Rick Macci’s concerns are justified, and there are signs regarding the team gelling up. But with LeBron James performing the way he is, and a fit Kevin Durant, alongside Steph Curry, the individual brilliance of the trio still remains unmatched.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.”