LeBron James Has a Bogus Excuse For Why He Won’t Play in New Basketball Event at Olympics

LeBron James won't be playing in the new 3-on-3 basketball event at the Olympics in 2020, and here's why.

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USA Today Sports

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lebron james passing

LeBron James can accomplish pretty much anything he wants to on a basketball court, and that's part of why his critics get so mad at him. Given his many talents, they've focused more on what he hasn't done rather than what he has, which is why something as silly as not participating in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has been used as a point against him.

It looks like you can add skipping out on 3-on-3 Olympic basketball to the list of complaints. When asked about his interest in participating in the new event, which has officially been marked down for an appearance at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, LeBron emphasized his preference was playing in full-strength basketball games.

"I'm not very good in a 3-on-3 thing, I'm more of a 5-on-5," he said. "I stay out of the 1-on-1 matchups during our practice, the 2-on-2s and the 3-on-3s. So probably not. I probably won't be a part of the 3-on-3 matchup that it has to offer."

As far as explanations go, the justification is a bit bogus from LeBron. He has plenty of legitimate reasons to sit out of Olympic events—the man already retired from Team USA after they won their second consecutive gold at the 2012 London Olympics—but not being good in a 3-on-3 format isn't one of them. If anything, he would be even more devastating in a 3-on-3 setting, with less bodies in the paint to clog up the floor, making it easier for him to get to the hoop and find teammates for easy baskets.

Though somebody would probably get mad if he said he needs the offseason to rest, most would understand if he just admitted he wanted to manage his workload closely. Rest and age are probably the big factors here—King James will be 35 by the time the 2020 Olympics come around—and there's no reason to be ashamed of that.

He won't be participating himself, but LeBron did share his excitement regarding the future event, telling reporters he thinks it's great for the sport.

"I think it's great for basketball," he said. "For us to be able to add another category to the Olympics, another basketball category, I think it's pretty great."

It'd be even more great to watch him post-up, drive past, and tomahawk dunk on fools in a 3-on-3 setting, but it's hard to be mad at him for opting out of the 3-on-3 event. When you go to seven straight NBA Finals (and counting) with two different teams, you've more than earned your long offseason.

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