LeBron James at the London Olympics LeBron James spoke with reporters in London on Friday at a Team USA news conference and talked about meeting other Olympic athletes in the Olympic Village. Watch video LONDON -- LeBron James took a lap through the Olympic Village on Thursday night, running into Columbus-area diver Abby Johnston, among others.
"Each and every athlete is here for a reason, they're Olympians for a reason," James said Friday, seated on a stage with the rest of Team USA as media from around the world clustered below him. "We're all one team, no matter what the sport. We all want the same goal, and that's to win the gold medal and make our country proud."
Few goals, however, are as expected as the one for James and his teammates, who open the basketball competition on Sunday against France. Coming off his first NBA title with the Miami Heat, James could have the best basketball 2012 of anyone maybe outside of Olympic teammate Anthony Davis, who already won an NCAA title with Kentucky and then was selected with the first pick in the draft.
"It's not as big as the NBA Final," Davis said, "But it would be great to win two titles in one year."
Could he ask for anything else?
"To get some sleep," Davis said.
James said he feels good, while looking to join Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen as the only players to pull of the double of an NBA title and Olympic gold medal in the same year. He said winning the title hasn't made the Olympic experience any different than 2004 and 2008, when he wasn't coming off titles with the Cavaliers.
So the expectations of Team USA? For James, it's another not-allowed-to-lose proposition, which he said he's used to.
"It's the same for me personally. I can't lose, period. Me. So I'm in no different boat than what I would be if I was back in the NBA," James said.
To that end, he won't get out and about in London. "I'm here for one thing, and one thing only, and that's to represent my country at the highest level," James said. "I'm not much of a sightseer."
The man with @KingJames as his handle on Twitter, when asked by an English journalist, said his nickname doesn't mean anything more among British royalty. While James marched in the Opening Ceremony on Friday night, the Queen was watching.
"I'm LeBron here," James said. "I don't even use that nickname too much."
He would like to get out and see some of the other Olympic sports, mentioning track and field, swimming, women's basketball and water polo. He'd like to see another gold, one he could put with the gold medal form 2008 that he keeps in his home office. He said it reminds him of the commitment he gave to Team USA after taking just a bronze at the 2004 Olympics.
This win could remind him that 2012 was his year, right?
"I don't know," James said. "Ask me when the Games are over."
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