puis dans la liste qui s’affiche, cliquez sur AdBlock
Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
While LeBron James was part of the famed Redeem Team in the 2008 Olympics, the future Hall of Famer almost never made it to China. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the King’s behavior nearly cost him his spot on the U.S. national team.
Team USA may now be on top of the world, but the early 2000s were far from as bright. Having failed to capture gold at the 2004 Olympics, then the 2006 World Championships (a bronze medal each time), the Americans had lost their crown and their aura, with teams lacking structure and relying solely on talent. However, that was no longer enough to stay at the top…
This observation gave birth to the famous Redeem Team, which won olympic gold in Beijing in 2008. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard: the best players in the world were there and, above all, they were united. But one of them almost stayed home, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, as LeBron’s behavior posed a particular problem for the team’s top brass ahead of the tournament:
Team USA executives exasperated by LeBron’s attitude
When the mandate had been to gather these immense egos and get the NBA’s greatest players to fit into a program, no one had a more difficult time meshing into the framework than James. Other players made it a point to learn the names of staffers and modestly go about their business without barking orders and brash demands.
Behind the scenes, officials had taken to calling James’ inner circle, “The Enablers.” No one ever told him to grow up. No one ever challenged him. And yet, James was still a powerful pull for his teammates, and everyone had to agree they could no longer let his bossy and belittling act go unchecked. These weren’t the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Team USA wasn’t beholden to him.
No one could stand James as a 19-year-old in the 2004 Athens Olympics, nor the 2006 World Championships. Officials feared James could become the instigator of everything they wanted to rid themselves for the ’08 Olympics. (…) Before Team USA gathered for the 2007 Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas, an unmistakable message had been delivered to James through Nike: Unless you change, we’re serious about leaving you home.
Through Nike, James ultimately heeded the message and became more tolerable to coaches, teammates and staff. Team USA assigned Jason Kidd to babysit him at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, to try to teach him something the Cavaliers never had a veteran to do: professionalism.
