LeBron James and Steph Curry made a triumphant debut as USA teammates, leading their team to an 86-72 victory over Canada in a pre-Olympic exhibition game in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The NBA stars are part of a powerful USA basketball roster aiming for a fifth consecutive gold medal as the Paris Olympics begin this month.
Playing together as international teammates for the first time, James and Curry displayed an impressive understanding during the game. Curry scored 12 points, while James added seven, helping the USA overcome an early 11-1 deficit to secure a comfortable win in their final home game before heading to Paris.
The team will next travel to the United Arab Emirates for exhibition games against Australia and Serbia next week.
Following the victory, Los Angeles Lakers star James gathered the team for a huddle, emphasizing their status as strong favorites for gold in France.
“We know we can be a lot better, but we’ve only been together for four days,” James said. “All the miscues offensively and the turnovers, we’ll improve on that—but it starts on the defensive end. As long as we defend, we’ll have a good chance to win every night.”
Curry echoed James’s sentiments, highlighting the importance of defense for their Olympic campaign.
“We can work out the kinks and the timing on offense, but if we compete and commit to playing defense, we’ll be fine against anybody,” Curry said.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, expressed his enjoyment of playing alongside Golden State star Curry.
“We’re just two guys who love to play basketball,” James said. “It’s fun. We play the game at a high level, but more importantly, we play the game we love the right way.”
Curry emphasized that winning a fifth consecutive gold would require a team effort.
“We just want to win gold, whatever that takes,” Curry said. “No matter your stats or how many minutes you play—if everyone commits to doing what’s needed, we’ll be good.”
