Opening Ceremony – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 0 – Source: Getty

NBA fans reacted to a picture of LeBron James with Team USA at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The picture was posted by former NBA player Lamar Odom on his X handle, formerly known as Twitter. The picture showed the LA Lakers star posing with what seemed like a drink in his hand and a cigar in his mouth.

He was posing for the picture with his teammates, including Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Lamar Odom and others. In 2004, LeBron James represented Team USA for the first time in the Olympics. Twenty years later, the King is still at the top of his game and leading his team at the Paris Olympics.

The picture that Odom posted on his social media generated a lot of reactions from fans. Alluding to a 19-year-old James with a drink in his hand, some fans questioned if he was legally allowed to drink.

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“what’s in Bron cup? he wasn’t old enough to drink,” a fan wrote.

Alluding to Team USA winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, some fans said that the team lost because players were busy drinking and smoking.

“That’s why y’all n*****s got bronze, look like y’all was kicking it,” a fan wrote.

“No wonder y’all didn’t win gold, y’all was too busy tryna get lit,” wrote another fan.

“Please don’t remind us,” another fan wrote.

In the picture, Wade was posing with three fingers and James was posing with four fingers, the exact number of championships they have after 20 years. A fan was questioned how they knew about the number of titles they would win.

“How did Wade know he was gonna get 3 and how Bron know he was gonna get 4 ???” a fan wrote.

Watching LeBron James lead Team USA even after 20 years, some fans heaped praise for the Lakers superstar.

“Melo definitely blowing gas! 😂 Crazy that everybody is long retired, and Team USA is still depending on Bron. He’s not there just for vet leadership, he’s still arguably the best all around player. That’s wild!” a fan wrote.

LeBron James thought of never playing in Olympics after 2004 loss

With LeBron James on the team, anything less than a gold was to be considered unsatisfactory for U.S. in 2004. Team USA had Dwyane Wade, LBJ, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and Carmelo Anthony on the roster. With such a deep roster, the team was yet again expected to win gold.

Despite the heavily loaded roster, USA lost two games in the group stage and was eventually upset by Argentina in the semifinals. The team won the bronze medal game defeating Lithuania.

The dissatisfaction with winning bronze was clearly visible on players’ faces. Heartbroken with the loss, LeBron James later said that he had made up his mind not to play for Team USA again at the Olympics:

“I’m sitting at the podium receiving the bronze medal like, ‘this s*** was a waste of my time.’ At that moment, I definitely wasn’t playing for Team USA again.”

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, LeBron James averaged 5.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.8 steals in eight games. He shot 59.4% from the field and 30.0% from beyond the arc.

James returned for his second Olympics when the Redeem Team was put together by Kobe Bryant in 2008. He played in the 2012 London Olympics as well and won his second gold medal after 2008.