“There’s the Dream Team, [the] Redeem Team, what’s this team?” NBC’s Zora Stephenson asked LeBron after he led Team USA to gold at the Paris Olympics.
“The Avengers.”
It wasn’t just LeBron embracing the Avengers nickname, so did Stephen Curry.
It works: Earth’s greatest, most iconic basketball heroes teaming up to form something greater than themselves.
The Avengers nickname floated around Team USA before it assembled in Las Vegas for training camp. You can thank four-time Olympian and member of the Redeem Team Carmelo Anthony, who first used the name “Avengers” for this roster in May on the Point Forward podcast featuring Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner.
“This team that they put together now, like I honestly think ratings wise — this is about the business of basketball — this would be like the 92 Olympics. When Jordan and them all went to Barcelona. Like the hype that that had, I think this hype would be the hype would be for this Olympics. Because you got to think to your point, the international game has grown. International players damn near has taken over the league, right?
“So now we gotta go put our Avengers together to go take on these other countries.”
‘Melo — who was courtside in Paris for the big games — was spot on about the ratings. This was the highest-rated men’s basketball gold medal game since the Atlanta Olympics of 1996.
He was spot on with the nickname, too. LeBron picked up another nickname in Paris that fits with the Avengers theme, “Captain LeMerica.”
Not only did these Avengers live up to the name and win everything, it didn’t take a do-over five (or four) years later for it to happen.
However, if America is the Avengers, does that make Victor Wembanyama a young Thanos… one who may be a bigger problem four years from now in Los Angeles.
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