LeBron James and the United States look to continue their relentless march toward a fifth straight Olympic basketball gold on Thursday, taking on Nikola Jokic’s Serbia for a place in the final.
The United States improved to 4-0 at the Paris Games with a blowout quarterfinal victory over Brazil, while three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic and Serbia had to fight tooth and nail to erase a 24-point deficit on the way to a narrow overtime win over Australia.
The Americans have the added confidence of two recent wins over Serbia, in a pre-Games friendly and in group stage play, but coach Steve Kerr cautioned they could not afford to relax.
“Serbia is really good,” Kerr said. “We can’t get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice.
“We have to be prepared for their best effort. We’ve got to think about, what are they going to do differently,” Kerr added. “Every game is so different and unique. You never know when the ball’s going in, when it’s not going in. We have to be prepared.”
Despite the Americans’ triumphant progress so far, James insisted that any team still standing – France will face Germany in the other semifinal – is a threat.
“Everybody, everybody, everybody,” James said when asked to name the most dangerous team remaining.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, leads a US Olympic team more stacked with star-power than any since Michael Jordan’s 1992 Dream Team.
James, a four-time NBA champion, is looking for a third Olympic gold while Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is chasing a fourth.
Golden State Warriors talisman Stephen Curry is playing in his first Olympics, looking for a gold to add to his four NBA crowns.
