“LeBron James dropped the basketball torch handed to him by Michael Jordan”: Jason Whitlock blames Lakers superstar for shocking Team USA performance

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Journalist Jason Whitlock digs into LeBron James’ house, blame for the US team’s decline in international basketball events in recent times

On Sunday, the American team lost 79-89 to France in their first game of the group stage. The Team USA side under Kevin Durant started the match strong but has calmed down since the second quarter. They lost six points to complete the third quarter, but managed to take a 9-point lead in the fourth. However, France, led by Evan Fournier, had a 16-2 streak to end the game and seal the victory.

Also Read: LeBron James Is What The United States Men’s Basketball Team Lacks: NBA Legend Magic Johnson Explains Why Kevin Durant & Co. Tokyo 2020 Lakers Superstar Missing

It marked the first Olympic loss for USA Basketball in their last 25 meetings. Although LeBron James chose not to participate in Tokyo 2020, the media somehow found a way to blame him for the loss. Jason Whitlock, a well-known journalist and podcast host, used some logic to pin the poor performance of all of Team USA on LeBron.

“LeBron James is the reason American athletes are indifferent to the Olympics”

When LeBron James first donned the American team jersey, the United States was undefeated. They had won gold in every major tournament since the inclusion of professional players in national events. However, upon his arrival, the United States took bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Greece. They went on to take bronze again at the 2006 FIBA ​​World Cup.

Since then, the United States has won gold at all three Olympics. However, we have seen quite a few athletes turn down opportunities to play for the USA team. Jason Whitlock talks about the same and puts the blame on LeBron James.

American basketball is in a worse place than LeBron found it. That’s what separates him from Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [and] Bill Russell. LeBron has dropped the basketball torch handed to him by the games’ greatest ambassadors,

American indifference to basketball and the Olympics falls at the feet of one man. LeBron will not be remembered the way we remember Ali, Jordan and Magic. pic.twitter.com/1KlvWUeCSL

Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 26, 2021

Also Read: The USA Team Really Selected Keldon Johnson Over Trae Young: NBA Fans Go Crazy As Hawks Superstar Wins Crazy OKC Skinz League Game

Whitlock went ahead and called James the face of the first social media athlete. In his opening, he also called this as one of the main reasons LeBron would never be considered a GOAT compared to Michael Jordan.

Either way, blaming LeBron James for this whole ordeal doesn’t make sense. At the end of the day, LBJ is another athlete too and he has the right to make his own decisions.

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