LeBron James makes more history before Olympic Games even begin

The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics is only days away, and as always, the host nation is planning a visual and auditory extravaganza to blow viewers away. France is giving the world an Opening Ceremony the likes of which it has never seen before, with athletes being sent on a river parade down the Seine. This is the first time that an Olympics Opening Ceremony won't be held in a stadium, and fans won't want to miss it.

As of 2020, every participating nation is allowed two flag bearers (one male and one female) for the Opening Ceremony. Being chosen to carry the flag is one of the greatest honors an athlete can receive, not only because these athletes get the chance to represent their country on such a tremendous stage but because the flag bearer is determined by a vote of their peers in a poll conducted by the Team USA Athletes' Commission.

We're still waiting to find out which female athlete will represent the United States delegation, but the male flag bearer has been announced, and it's a name people might have heard of before. That's right, LeBron James will be adding to his list of accolades by carrying the U.S. flag in the Opening Ceremony.

Choosing LeBron James as the flag bearer for the United States is a power move

James is one of the greatest and most recognizable athletes in the world. There's little he hasn't done on the basketball court, both in the NBA, where he's won four MVPs and four championships and at the Olympics, where he's won a bronze medal (2004) and two golds (2008 and 2012). This will be his fourth Olympics, making him one of the senior members of the team, and it's a clear statement that the United States is there to win.

For James, it's the latest milestone in a truly singular career. He's the first men's basketball player to represent the U.S. as a flag bearer, and he joins Dawn Staley and Sue Bird as the only other basketball players from this country to receive the honor.

Even as the quality of basketball around the world has greatly improved in the past couple of decades, the U.S. men's team is still a heavy favorite to once again win gold. Still, it's far from a sure thing, as Saturday's shockingly close tune-up game with South Sudan proved. James saved the U.S. from one of the most astonishing upsets in international basketball history by scoring 25 points and sinking a layup with eight seconds left to complete a 16-point comeback and secure a 101-100 U.S. win.

James has been in the headlines recently due to the Lakers drafting his son Bronny, and for the ongoing conversation about whether retirement could be in the cards for him in the next couple of years. James is still an extremely effective NBA player, but no matter how long his NBA career lasts, this will almost surely be his final Olympics. Carrying the flag and potentially leading another gold medal-winning run would be a heck of a way to go out.