Four years before representing the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics, several members of that team — LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jason Tatum, Joel Embiid and Bum Adebayo — joined the knees to protest racial injustice during the national anthem. Stephen Curry joined in 2021 hours after the Capitol riots.
In doing so, the two called to disregard the country that they didn't actually want to be part of. However, it seems that he is saying that at the greatest stages, stars and stripes are not the case.
This summer, James and Davis' quest for the gold medal was featured in a new Netflix documentary entitled “Gold Court,” following the American, French, Serb and Canadian national teams in Paris.
The six-part document was released last week.
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LeBron James is on his knees with a medal for the national anthem. (image)
Coach Jake Rogall said he never discussed politics with players, but he could say that despite the issues they may have had in the past, they didn't take their country for granted.
“Even if you're not happy with how things are going, I think you're proud of where you came from,” Rogal said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “I think we're in a polarised, turbulent environment. And whether you like it or not, this is where you come from and you want to move forward with your best feet to express it.”
Most American-born NBA players seem to prefer league titles over gold medals, but at this point it certainly looked difficult. It was easy for anyone to see how important those games were, especially during the semi-finals and finals.
However, Rogal said he felt it was impossible for players to compare the two phenomena.
“I don't know if they compare them, because we asked similar questions. And the answer we got back to quite consistently was that you can't compare them because they are two different experiences,” Rogal said. “The NBA Championship is the whole season and you're building it up. It's your job. The Olympics are for your country and it's a hit right away. It's the same sport, but two different achievements.
US security guard Kevin Durant, #7, guard LeBron James, #6, shooting guard Stephen Curry, #4 celebrate after a match against Serbia in the men's basketball semi-final match during the Paris 2024 Olympic summer match at Accor Arena. (Rob Schumacher-Usa Today Sports)
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The Olympics were far from the All-Star break, for example. Just minutes after the Gold Medal Game closure, Stephen Curry brightened it up, bringing Americans to gold, peaking at a 22.7 million viewers. It was the most viewed gold medal game since 1996. However, this year's All-Star Game was the second-lowest rating since the turn of the century, with an average audience of 4.7 million people.
The NBA festival won the NHL 4 Nations tournament as it was recruited by over 9 million people in the US and Canada finals (although the fight and political tension certainly played a role).
Nevertheless, given these past Olympic sentiments, Logal feels that it's all for NBA players to follow in the NHL's footsteps by introducing international tournaments for the All-Star break.
United States shooting guards Stephen Curry #4 and Guard LeBron James (#6) celebrate after beating France in the men's basketball gold medal game at the 2024 Olympic summer match at Ecole Arena. (Rob Schumacher-Usa Today Sports)
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“I think whenever you include a country, it raises interests. It makes things more attractive. It adds emotions immediately. It adds competitiveness,” Rogal said. “So I think it's smart to compete in the country at any time in a mix. Whether it's the All-Star Game or the Olympics, it's so personal, so adding a country will give you a more competitive response.
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