LeBron James and USA basketball team use Abu Dhabi as launchpad for 17th Olympic title bid

The road to a possible 17th Olympic men’s basketball gold medal has brought Team USA to Abu Dhabi, where LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Co enjoyed their first practice in the capital on Saturday ahead of their upcoming exhibition games against Australia and Serbia.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, greeted the squad and gave them a heartwarming speech ahead of their training session, wishing them luck and inviting them to soak in the culture during their stay in the UAE.

James is no stranger to the Middle East and is looking forward to taking to the court at Etihad Arena against Australia on Monday, July 15, and Serbia two days later.

“I’m excited to be here once again. I spent a little time in Saudi Arabia, I was in Dubai as well, and now being here in Abu Dhabi. I’m looking forward to playing in the game on Monday, playing the game on Wednesday, and seeing the reception that we get for Team USA. I’m super excited. It’s always a treat,” said the two-time Olympic gold medallist and four-time NBA champion.

Players like Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton are all repeat visitors to Abu Dhabi, which has become a vibrant hub for basketball in the region.

Edwards came to the capital twice last year – once with Team USA during the summer ahead of their FIBA World Cup campaign and once with the Minnesota Timberwolves for a pair of pre-season games against the Dallas Mavericks in October.

“I told them it’s super fun, the people are very welcoming, it’s a dope place to visit,” Edwards shared with his USA teammates before they touched down in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The Timberwolves guard said he planned on hitting the beach post-practice while Curry, Devin Booker, and recently crowned NBA champion Jayson Tatum went to Yas Links for a round of golf.

Tatum is one of three Boston Celtics players who have made the USA roster, with Holiday and new addition Derrick White – who has replaced Kawhi Leonard – also facing the challenge of getting ready for the Olympics so soon after their championship win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Holiday faced the same situation three years ago at the Tokyo Games, where he was coming off a title victory with the Milwaukee Bucks and went straight into a gold medal run with Team USA at the Olympics.

“You rest when you can, you take care of your body when you’re not on the court. There’s a lot of things you got to do, just icing and stretching and massages and things to take care of your body,” said Holiday.

“Doing your best just trying to get away from basketball, mentally escaping. Me, I do a lot of things with my family. We have fun. A time like this, we try to enjoy Abu Dhabi, try to enjoy the culture, so that you kind of get away from the basketball a little bit.”

Head coach Steve Kerr is back in Abu Dhabi but with a different group of stars to the one he led at the World Cup last year. USA placed an underwhelming fourth at that tournament but then proceeded to build an elite squad that is Dream Team-esque and is the outright favourite for gold in Paris this summer.

“We definitely built the roster with more size, more physicality, we’re trying to put the best defensive players and defensive team on the floor as much as possible,” explained Kerr, who has the likes of Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant at his disposal.

After beating Canada in their first exhibition game in Las Vegas last Wednesday, USA will take on Australian and Serbia in Abu Dhabi before flying to London for friendlies against South Sudan and Germany.

The Nikola Jokic-led Serbia team will also be USA’s first opponent at the Olympic Games in France, which means Kerr will probably choose not to show all his cards in their exhibition clash on Wednesday.

“I think the main thing is we’ve only been practising for four days, and then we had one game. So this is really more about us and not worrying about our opponents,” explained the Golden State Warriors coach.

“This whole week is very important for us, practice time. So I don’t think we’ll plan anything special against Serbia [in Abu Dhabi], it’s more just continuing to get better.”