A young fan in Paris got a little too close to LeBron James as the Team USA star celebrated his third Olympic gold medal along the Seine.
Dressed in a USA Basketball T-shirt and shorts, James almost looked like he was on his way to practice, except for the bottle of wine in one hand and a gold medal around his neck. But for all the lightheartedness surrounding his arrival at a Parisian restaurant in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, James quickly grew angry when a young fan got in his way and apparently asked for a photo.
“Stop, stop, stop,” James said to the boy, raising his hand. “Don’t do that.”
The incident didn’t derail James’ evening, however: the Los Angeles Lakers star quickly walked to the restaurant entrance, as fans congratulated him along the way.
Several fans online were angry about the incident.
A young fan in Paris got a little too close for LeBron James’ comfort as the Team USA star celebrated his third Olympic gold along the Seine
James turned and entered the restaurant with a bottle of wine in his hand
“That kid did block him, but LeBron could have handled it a lot nicer,” someone wrote on X. “It’s another bad move for King James.”
“Michael Jordan wouldn’t have done that,” added another.
Others were understanding of James’s situation.
“He’s not snapping,” one fan wrote on X in James’ defense. “He’s asking him to stop. I can’t imagine people being in my face like that.”
Team USA’s mission was completed Saturday night when the U.S. won its fifth consecutive Olympic gold, defeating France — in Paris, no less — 98-87. Stephen Curry scored 24 points, all on 3-pointers, while Kevin Durant won his fourth Olympic gold, while James won his third gold and fourth medal overall.
And then the party started. Soon it will be time to think about how we’re going to do it again in 2028, when the Olympics return to Los Angeles. Grant Hill is back as managing director of the men’s national team, and he’s already excited about what’s to come.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my life,” Hill said. “And this is something that definitely consumes you, but it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Especially when the team wins.
Bam Adebayo and LeBron James (right) watch the US women win gold in Paris
NBA rivals LeBron James and Jayson Tatum celebrate their gold medal win over France
Breanna Stewart is congratulated by LeBron James, Bam Adebayo and Derrick White
There will be changes between now and 2028, when James will be 43 and likely retired (although, with James, never say never). It may seem doubtful that Curry and Durant will still be playing in four years, but then again, who knows. Some players, like Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, have already said they want to stay; others, like Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, seem certain they want to.
No decisions have been made and that will not change for a while. Hill will take a well-earned break. The next big international tournament is the World Cup in Qatar in 2027. It is safe to say that it will be sometime in 2025 when he starts seriously putting together a group for that.
“A lot can and will happen in four years,” Hill said. “Now, just stepping back, just letting things happen and seeing how guys continue to develop and what kind of season guys have over the next year or so. And then, at some point, you start that process all over again.”
When he took over, Hill said he wanted a pipeline for both players and coaches. People leave the program, others move up. Steve Kerr made it clear when he agreed to replace Gregg Popovich as U.S. coach that it would be for the 2023 World Cup and these Olympics in Paris. It seems likely that the next national team coach will be either Spoelstra or Tyronn Lue, given that both were assistants under Kerr the past two summers.
And already, the player pool for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has a slew of obvious candidates. Adebayo has said he wants to play, and Davis — admittedly with a new gold medal hanging over his neck that may be weighing on his mood — said Saturday night that he thinks he’ll play in 2028. Edwards, Haliburton, Tatum and Booker (who was incredible at this Olympics) will all be 31 or younger when the Games begin in Los Angeles. Edwards won’t turn 27 that summer.
LeBron James blasts into the court against Frenchman Victor Wembanyama in the Olympic final
NBA forward Nic Batum was wise to step aside as James scored an easy slam
Add a few players from the World Cup team — Paolo Banchero, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are all candidates on that list — and there’s a whole host of logical options. There will be more, many more.
“We’re excited to have some of these young guys in the pipeline and on the team now, so they can be part of the next group,” Kerr said. “But we didn’t really think about that when we were putting the team together. We’re just putting the best group together that we can to win and we’re not worried about 2028 for four years.”
USA Basketball announced in April 2021 that Hill would replace Jerry Colangelo as managing director of the men’s national team. Colangelo officially stepped down about four months later after the Tokyo Games ended, ending a streak of four Olympic gold medals and two world championships.
The job sounds simple, but it isn’t. The managing director’s primary responsibility is to select the best players and coaches willing to be part of a program where anything less than a gold medal is considered a failure.
“I don’t know if I fully understood what it was all about when I was announced or even thought about it,” Hill said. “It was a marathon — maybe an ultramarathon, one of those 100-mile races. But everything, the preparation, the game planning, strategy, logistics, there have been some really great times and there have been some really tough times. It’s all been absolutely incredible. It’s been more challenging and more rewarding and more fulfilling than I could have imagined.”
