LeBron James was all smiles on Wednesday after helping lead the USA to another victory in the 2024 Olympic Games. This time, after Bam Adebayo exploded for his best game of the summer, James showered his teammate in praise and hailed him as the “new splash brother” after shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc.
“The new Splash Brother!” said James, who scored 12 points. “Bam Bam Splash!”
“The new Splash Brother… Bam Bam Splash!” 😆
LBJ 🤝 Bam pic.twitter.com/Rp6hv6JGT2
— NBA (@NBA) July 17, 2024
Team USA pulled off an impressive victory over Serbia in their first official game of the Paris Olympic Games this year. And now they are fresh off another win (103-86) over South Sudan to secure a perfect 2-0 record for the opening games of the tournament.
2-0 & top of Group C!
🇺🇸 #USABMNT x #Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/G3TWrRhm5r
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 31, 2024
South Sudan gave the U.S. a good scare during the exhibition games, and it took a miracle layup from LeBron James to win the first match. This time, however, the results were different thanks to LeBron (4x champion) and the latest Splash Brother.
The “Splash Brothers” is known for being the iconic nickname of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. When they won four titles together, that’s what people used to describe their amazing shooting and unstoppable scoring. After this summer, Bam Adebayo may adopt the nickname as well with the way he’s been playing lately.
Bam Adebayo led all scorers for the U.S. with 18 points on 8-10 shooting and he was making big shots throughout the night. While not the first addition to the Olympic roster this year, he’s been a welcome inclusion in the lineup to shore up the frontcourt and add versatility to the position.
For Bam, the performance comes after he was named as the starter in place of Joel Embiid, who was mysteriously left out of the rotation today following his 4-point game against Serbia.
Joel Embiid didn’t want to play for his home country and now isn’t getting minutes on Team USA😭😭 pic.twitter.com/aqU4zpGOQH
— RapsShowYo (@RapsShowYo) July 31, 2024
Jayson Tatum also made his first start this summer after the controversy surrounding his benching against Serbia. Unfortunately, he didn’t make a good case for a heavy minutes load after dropping just 4 points on 2-4 shooting.
Steve Kerr on the team USA bench watching Jayson Tatum brick an open 3 and miss his first two shots since starting the game pic.twitter.com/L8nVCVXYqZ
— John (@iam_johnw) July 31, 2024
Team USA is arguably more stacked this year than ever before and when you look at the full roster, it’s clear that a case can be made. With LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, the US is unmatched this year in terms of pure talent and it’s why they are 2-0 so far and heavy favorites to win the gold.
After their latest victory, Team USA moves to prepare for their next opponent in the Group C bracket: Puerto Rico. Besides Jose Alvarado, Puerto Rico doesn’t have any NBA-level players and the US should easily escape with another blowout win
Of course, with teams like Germany, Canada, and France having each secured their own superstar there’s still a chance for an upset this year. At 39 years old, LeBron James is doing everything he can to lift the US over the edge but he cannot do it alone.
The hope is that with players like Steph, Durant, and Bam, Team USA will have enough star power to overcome any challenge they may face. But they’ll also need patience, chemistry, and an effective game plan if they want to minimize the chances of a loss in the games this year.
Even at 2-0, and with much of the tournament left to play, LeBron James is feeling confident that they can pull this off and bring pride to the nation by re-taking the gold and establishing the United States as the pinnacle of basketball performance around the world.
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