LeBron James International Behavior Gets High Praise From Grant Hill

A little more than a year ago, Lakers star LeBron James and USA Basketball capped off a 6-0 sweep of their games at the Paris Olympics to bring home the gold medal for the Americans, the team's fifth straight gold medal and 17th in Olympic history. It was James' third gold medal after he skipped the Olympics in 2016 and 2021.

James was dominant in those Games. He averaged 14.2 points, and a team-high 8.2 rebounds, also leading the Americans with 10.2 assists.

But what stood out to USA Basketball chairman Grant Hill was the way James behaved in the lead-up to Paris, and during the tournament itself. That was a message relayed by Hill's former teammate and friend Steve Nash, who is now James's co-host on the "Mind the Game" podcast.

Nash relayed a phone call from Hill: "He was really impressed with your voice that summer, your leadership. He also said you were first in the meetings, first on the bus—I don’t want to make young like a, you know what I mean, goody-two-shoes. But from a coaching perspective when your best player, most famous player, most accredited player, sets that standard every day, there’s a trickle-down. There’s a care factor, there’s a priority placed on what we’re doing."

LeBron James Explains Approach

That's not the first time USA Basketball has been impressed by James' conduct. Hill's predecessor, Jerry Colangelo, said that he knew Team USA would be in good shape for the so-called "Redeem Team" Olympics in 2008 when James showed up for his meeting before those game early and wearing a suit.

James explained to Nash, "I have always had a feeling of like, I don’t like being late to anything. It was always like a disrespectful thing, my stomach starts to hurt a little bit, my anxiety starts to ramp up a little bit. … To hear Grant say those words, man, it’s like it’s always been in me."

James added that he learned early to focus his behavior on influencing teammates.

"I was a class clown and a jokester," he said. "I still am today. I love laughing and joking and things of that nature. I think that’s where, when I started playing sports,  some of my Little League coaches said, ‘You need to use that to your advantage of playing a sport, too, and helping out some of the other kids with your voice that may not feel confident in their ability to talk or may not want to talk."