But the star guard heads back to America with bronze draped around his neck, not to mention plenty of satisification about the progress of Team USA since falling upon tough times and going through a re-building process.

James scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists - all personal bests in the tournament - in the United States' 96-81 victory in beating Argentina for the bronze medal. He also took over the point guard duties and helped disrupt Argentina playmaker Pepe Sanchez into three turnovers - after commiting five in total over the previous four games.

James talked to FIBA after the Americans' final game in Japan.

FIBA: Earlier you said the U.S. played their best game of this tournament today, you also had your best showing. It seemed like you had more energy than the other guys on the team for stretches.
James: I thought our guys would get down about last night (the semi-final loss to Greece). But I didn't want them to mope. And they did a great job about last night. It's not what we wanted to happen. But we got better. We've gotten better since the training camp in Vegas and we took care of business tonight.

FIBA: Does this send a message that this whole thing has not been a failure?
James: Yeah, I think it does. We didn't accomplish what we wanted to, but we've gotten better and USA Basketball is growing again for the United States of America.

FIBA: What needs to happen for the U.S. to win a tournament like this again?
James: We just have to keep improving and do what we've been doing. We've improved since the first training camp in early July. Man, that's so long ago. It feels like it was last year. But we've gotten better and come together and become a family. We just need to keep driving and getting better, and loving FIBA basketball because it's great. It's been good to us.

FIBA: Did you say you love FIBA basketball?
James: Oh, for the time I've been here you have to. For one, I love basketball, period. It doesn't matter if it's FIBA, the NBA or if I'm at home playing with my sons basketball. I'm just happy being part of the game. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving the NBA to play FIBA basketball (said laughing). I'm not leaving the NBA for that.

FIBA: How has the relationship between you, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade changed over the past two years since failing together to claim the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics?
James: It's changed a lot. We know how important it is and what it takes to win FIBA basketball games. And now looking at next summer (the Americas qualification) and going to the Olympics, we know what it takes. It's a whole different game. And you have to have your mind set and just forget about the NBA. Just forget about it and know you're going into a whole different basketball game.

FIBA: LeBron, you played the point against Argentina and went at Pepe Sanchez. Was that something you guys talked about going into the game?
James: Yeah, that's something that coach talked about this morning at breakfast time. Too bad we couldn't have thought about it earlier. But that was a great adjustment by coach. I played point guard for the most part of the game and led our team to the victory.

FIBA: Would you be comfortable playing the point in the future with USA Basketball?
James: Yeah, whatever it takes for our team to win basketball games. If that's what it takes, me going to the point guard or guarding the point. I think my athleticism and my length can disrupt other point guards' offense. In FIBA basketball, the offense is ran very crisp, and if you can just knock it off a little bit, it can help us.

FIBA: You, Dwyane and Carmelo - the three captains - all started for the first time together since the group stages. How important was that going into this game?
James: I think it sends a big message. We had no give up. As captains we couldn't let our team go down like that, losing two straight after a successful tournament, a successful training camp and a successful exhibition. We did a great job as captains coming out and playing well.