Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are putting on a show during their first games back for Team USA basketball in 12 years.
The dynamic duo shined once again in USA Basketball’s third pre-Olympics exhibition warm-up game, a 105-79 blowout win against Team Serbia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Team USA is now 3-0 in exhibition play.
James, a starter even at age 39 (because, well, he’s LeBron James), scored 11 points overall, but he really started piling on with prime-channeling drives late into the fourth quarter, with the game already well in-hand.
Davis, meanwhile, is developing a quick chemistry with his one-time 2020 NBA Finals foe, Miami Heat All-Star center Bam Adebayo. That frontcourt duo, along with Indiana Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Phoenix Suns All-Star combo guard Devin Booker, and Minnesota Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards, have comprised Team USA head coach Steve Kerr’s preferred second unit, which he often brings in all at once in a hockey substitution-esque pattern.
“Bam and AD together are really something, just the switching, but they can also protect the rim and be in a drop if we go to that coverage,” Kerr reflected, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “The strength of the team is the depth, and so if we can play in four- or five-minute bursts of just playing intense defense, hitting bodies, rebounding being physical, then it makes sense to play that way.”
Davis scored seven points on 2-of-2 field goal shooting and 3-of-4 foul shooting, while also pulling down six rebounds and blocking an insane six shots.
Golden State Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry, playing on Team USA for the first time ever at age 36, scored 18 points in his first 11 minutes of game action, finishing with a dominant 24 points overall on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor (6-of-9 from deep) and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity ᵴtriƥe.
Team Serbia could be one of the biggest threats for Team USA’s chances of securing its fifth straight Olympic gold medal, led by three-time Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic and Atlanta Hawks sixth man guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. Jokic finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two assists.
