LeBron James has multiple Olympic gold medals, multiple MVP awards and multiple NBA championships. What more could he want? He wants more everything listed which is why the Miami Heat star is not ruling out a return for the 2016 Olympic team.
According to CBSSports.com, James said back in July that the 2012 Olympics in London would likely be his last. Team USA had once again earned the gold medal and James was considering going out on top as far as international play was concerned. However, in an interview with NBA.com, the basketball star is not ready to rule out one more go at having another gold medal placed around his neck.
"No, I'm not officially in, just yet. But hopefully, I can be healthy enough and on top of my game at that point where I'll be taken," James said. "First, I've got to make sure I stay healthy. If I'm fortunate enough to be healthy, I would love to represent my country again. But that's a long time from now, so we'll see."
James is wise to stay non-committal on the idea of the Olympics. The Games are a long ways away and right now the Heat star is focused on earning a third-straight NBA title with Miami before possibly entering into free agency in the summer of 2014. There is a lot of things that have to happen before he can begin to think Olympics once again. If James were to make a return in 2016 and USA won again, he would then have three gold medals and one bronze in international play.
As James prepares for another NBA season to kickoff Tuesday night, he is looking to other Olympic stars as inspiration. In a recent interview with ESPN the Magazine, James credits Allen Iverson as a true inspiration and a player he hopes to model his career after.
"Pound-for-pound, probably the greatest player who ever played," James said. "I watch Jordan more than anybody for sure. But I'll watch tapes of A.I., too. I don't take anything from A.I.. Well, I do -- his will. They say he was 6 feet, but A.I. was like 5-10½. Do we even want to say 160? 170 [pounds]? Do we even want to give him that much weight? And he played like a 6-8 2-guard. He was one of the greatest finishers we've ever seen."
James compared Iverson to boxer Floyd Mayweather noting that his will to win was truly inspiring. As the Heat prepare to try for a third-straight title, James will need that heart to complete the goal.
