LeBron James and Team USA completed an incredible comeback in the Olympic semifinals against Serbia on Thursday, fighting back after being down 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter and winning the game in regulation. In the process, LeBron finished with a triple-double: 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
It’s the second triple-double of LeBron’s Olympic career as he sticks with Slovenia’s and Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and the Soviet Union’s Alexander Belov as the only players to have a triple-double in Olympic history. Doncic accomplished the feat against France in 2021.
Only three players have recorded a triple-double in Olympic history.
Alexander Belov (USSR): 23 PTS, 14 REB, 10 AST vs. Canada in 1976.
LeBron James (USA): 11 PTS, 14 REB, 12 AST vs. Australia in 2012
Luka Dončić (Slovenia): 16 PTS, 10 REB, 18 AST vs. France in 2021.
LeBron… pic.twitter.com/YO70KaVUcR
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) August 9, 2024
Doncic and Slovenia didn’t qualify for this year’s Olympics, bowing out to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece in the qualifier. It may have been for the best for Doncic to heal from his injuries throughout the playoffs but not seeing him compete on the international stage is disappointing.
LeBron James and Team USA will fight for the gold medal on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST against the host country of France and rising superstar Victor Wembanyama. They also employ Rudy Gobert , who hardly played in the semifinals against Germany, Evan Fournier, Nic Batum, and former Maverick Frank Ntilikina. Nikola Jokic and Serbia will fight for the bronze medal against Franz Wagner’s Germany.
