USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo: "[James] made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time is over."
USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said he does not expect LeBron James to play for Team USA at the Olympics in future years.
"Father Time takes its toll," Colangelo told ESPN Radio. "If you're a human being, your body is built to go so long depending on what your sport is, and then it's a downhill situation. LeBron made choices these last couple of Olympics not to participate because he's got a lot of things going on in his life."
"So he put in his time, he made a contribution that is appreciated, but I think his time is over."
James logged 68 international games for Team USA dating back to 2004, including a trio of Olympic appearances. He was on Team USA's 2004 squad that finished with the bronze medal in Athens, and he helped lead the Americans to gold medals in 2008 and 2012. But after opting out of the 2016 Rio Olympics and the upcoming Games in Tokyo, Colangelo said he assumes James's Olympic career is "over."
Kevin Durant and Draymond Green are the lone members of Team USA from 2016 that will play in Tokyo. USA Basketball finalized its Olympic roster on June 28 with Gregg Popovich serving as the team's head coach.
“We are excited about the 12 players who have been selected to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics,” Colangelo said upon the roster's announcement. “This was an unusually challenging selection process for many reasons, including the year postponement of the Olympics and the issues related to the timing of the NBA regular season and playoffs."
“Our roster features players who are experienced in the international game, and this team has outstanding athleticism, versatility and balance. We also believe we have excellent leadership which is a necessity in order to develop the needed chemistry. We still have a lot of challenges in front of us, but I believe these players will become a team that all Americans will be proud of.”
Durant will play in his third Olympics in Tokyo. James and David Robinson both appeared in three Olympics. Carmelo Anthony holds the record with four Olympic appearances.
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