LeBron’s 3-on-3 dream team
LeBron James most likely won’t be playing in the new 3-on-3 competition at the 2020 Olympics.
And it’s even less likely that Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson will participate.
But a trio of LeBron, MJ, and Magic in a 3-on-3 format would be formidable indeed.
The superstar captain of the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t hesitate when asked by Associated Press who his dream teammates would be for the Tokyo Games: Michael and Magic — the leaders of the 1992 Dream Team.
When asked by AP which current players he’d love to team with, James was a bit more cautious.
“I don’t know, I have to think about it,” James said ahead of last Sunday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
While James said fans shouldn’t expect to see him in the competition — it’s still unclear if the NBA will even allow its players to compete in Tokyo — he is happy the new hoops tournament was added.
“It’s great for basketball,” he said. “For us to be able to add another category to the Olympics, another basketball category, I think it’s pretty great.
“I haven’t seen the full layout of how they plan on executing it ... are they going to use NBA guys, are they going to use college guys? I’m not quite sure.
“I’m not very good in a 3-on-3 thing; I’m more of a 5-on-5 guy. I stay out of the 1-on-1 matchups during our practice, the 2-on-2 and the 3-on-3s. So probably not. I probably won’t be a part of the 3-on-3 matchup.”
The new Olympic event was added by the International Olympic Committee last week.
There will be eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams competing. As far as what teams are selected and how they will qualify, that’s still unclear.
“They don’t want just the basketball powers to compete in 3-on-3,” said USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley. “FIBA will get together and figure out how teams will qualify. They will definitely want to reward countries that have been doing a lot of 3-on-3 activities.”
The US has been pushing 3-on-3 over the past few years and held a national tournament last month. The winners will head to the World Cup in France later this month.
“The last few years, we have made a major push in 3-on-3 basketball with our nationwide Dew NBA 3X tour and several international 3-on-3 competitions,” said NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.
“The Olympic stage will provide these elite athletes with the opportunity to demonstrate their talents.”
Most NBA players grew up playing 3-on-3 and welcome its addition, even if they don’t end up playing.
Golden State forward Draymond Green said one reason he is in a favor of it is because “guys can win that are not pro athletes.”