Team USA selects James as male flagbearer for opening ceremony

LeBron James wasn't totally sure what the opening ceremony was all about when he was picked for his first Olympics in 2004.

This time, he'll be one of the stars of the show.

James has been picked by his fellow US Olympians to serve as the male flagbearer for Team USA in Friday night's opening ceremony for the Paris Games. He becomes the third basketball player — and the first men's player — to carry the US flag at the start of an Olympics, joining Dawn Staley at the Athens Games in 2004 and Sue Bird in Tokyo in 2021.

"It's an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together," James said. "For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations.

"Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I'm proud to be a part of this important moment."

The 39-year-old James got word of the honor on Monday while in London, a few hours before the US men's team held off World Cup champion Germany 92-88 in its final tune-up before the Paris Games start.

Fellow US star and first-time Olympian Stephen Curry, on behalf of the US men's team, nominated James for the flagbearer role.

"We understand how much of an honor it is to be in that position and I think Bron's entire career, on and off the court, speaks for itself as him being worthy of that honor," Curry said in the nomination video.

"He has represented what it means to be excellent, both on and off the court. His commitment to service and to uplifting the community in all the ways that he knows how has been a lifelong passion," Curry added. "And the work speaks for itself."

Team USA's female flagbearer was expected to be named on Tuesday. The International Olympic Committee decided in 2020 that national delegations would have two flagbearers — one male, one female — at the opening ceremony at an Olympics, a move to promote gender parity. The US is expected to have nearly 600 athletes at the Paris Games, about 53 percent of them female.

James — a global icon, a four-time NBA champion and the league's all-time leading scorer who is preparing to enter his record-tying 22nd NBA season — is set to play at the Olympics for the fourth time, after he was part of US teams that won bronze at Athens 2004 and gold at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

This will be an opening ceremony like none other in Olympic history: Thousands of athletes will be part of a flotilla sailing along the River Seine toward the Eiffel Tower at sunset. It's a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route, with about 320,000 guests set to watch from the riverbanks, and about one billion more, Olympic officials estimate, watching on televisions around the world.

James and the US Olympians will be waiting longer than almost any other nation for their trip on the Seine. By IOC custom, Greece — which will have NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo as one of its two flagbearers — will lead the procession, followed by the Refugee Olympic Team and then about 200 more delegations.

The US is scheduled to go next-to-last in the procession, because Los Angeles will play host to the next Summer Games in 2028.

France, as the host, will be the final nation to embark on the journey along the Seine.

Agencies