LeBron James and Steph Curry made a successful debut as USA teammates in an 86-72 victory against Canada during a pre-Olympics exhibition game in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The two NBA superstars are part of a formidable USA basketball team aiming for a fifth consecutive gold medal as the Paris Olympics commence this month.
James and Curry, playing together internationally for the first time, showcased a near-telepathic understanding during the game. Curry scored 12 points, while James added seven, helping the USA recover from an early 11-1 deficit to secure the win in their final home game before heading to Paris.
Next, the team will travel to the United Arab Emirates for exhibition games against Australia and Serbia.
Following the game, Los Angeles Lakers’ James rallied the team, highlighting their potential as favorites for gold in France.
“We know we can be a lot better, but we’ve only been together four days,” James said. “All the miscues offensively, and the turnovers. We’ll get better with that—but it starts on the defensive end. As long as we defend, we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win every night.”
Curry emphasized the importance of defense for their Olympic campaign.
“We can work out the kinks and the timing on offense, but if we compete like that and commit to playing defense, we’ll be fine against anybody,” Curry stated.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, expressed his enjoyment of teaming up with Golden State’s Curry.
“We’re just two guys who love to play the game of basketball,” James said. “It’s fun. We play the game at a high level but more importantly, we just play the game that we love the right way.”
Curry added that winning a fifth consecutive gold would be a collective effort.
“We just want to win gold, whatever that takes,” Curry said. “No matter what your stats are, no matter how many minutes you play—if everybody on the floor commits to just doing what you’re asked to do, we’ll be good.”