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Anthony Davis was swatting shots and LeBron James was throwing down lobs in Team USA’s win

Posted on July 11, 2024 - 6:17 am by

After a bit of a scare to start the game against Canada on Wednesday, Team USA rallied to come away with a big win to kick off their summer, 86-72.

The night was full of highlights, particularly for the Lakers’ duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. While LeBron had a fairly modest stat line — more on him later — AD had a huge performance, recording the only double-double for Team USA with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The not-Defensive-Player-of-the-Year finalist really made his mark defensively, swatting four shots and swiping two steals.

Davis did not start the game as Joel Embiid got the nod at the center position. But Embiid immediately got in foul trouble and eventually fouled out in just 12 minutes, offering plenty of playing time for Davis.



Largely playing alongside Bam Adebayo, AD anchored Team USA’s defense and excelled as he always does on that end.

AD still had plenty to offer offensively as well. His 10 points made him one of four players in double figures.

Not to be outdone on the lob-catching front, LeBron had the highlight of the night with Steph Curry. On a fastbreak, Steph found LeBron for an alley-oop, a play we’ll likely see a couple of times over the ensuing weeks.



After the game, the two were asked the play and you could see how giddy they were to finally be playing meaningful games alongside each other.

LeBron also had a chasedown block that sparked a Devin Booker 3-pointer as well.

In 19 minutes of play, LeBron tallied seven points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. LeBron and AD accounted for five of the 11 steals for Team USA and five of the nine blocks.



And because it wouldn’t be a game against Dillon Brooks without a kerfuffle, he and LeBron had a moment early on, too.

It was just one game and an exhibition one at that, but AD was pretty clearly the best player for Team USA in this one. It’ll take some time for everyone to gel, but we saw last season Anthony Edwards go from sixth man to star of the team.

Don’t be surprised if AD supplants Embiid in the starting lineup. The former’s game is far more suited for FIBA play and he also is a much better defensive player in that starting lineup as opposed to Embiid.

No matter if it’s as a starter or reserve, though, AD looks primed for a big Olympics.