Director of USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo doesn't expect that Miami Heat forward LeBron James will join Team USA in the 2014 World Championships in Spain and he hasn't asked, reports Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears.
LeBron James not expected to play in World Championships
Jerry Colangelo has his doubts about having LeBron James available to Team USA in 2014.
Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE
The men's national team received commitments from Kevin Durant and Kevin Love on Wednesday, its first from members of the 2012 Olympic gold-medal squad.
But James’ apparent decision to step aside will obviously leave a large hole. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in the London games, but his impact went beyond the numbers.
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He acted as distributor to scorers like Durant and Carmelo Anthony, he held down the paint on a team that played a good deal of small ball and perhaps his triple-double in the Olympic quarterfinals against Australia did some justice to the importance of his presence on Team USA.
But there's a legitimate reason James might not play. After all, he's hardly taken a break in the last few years, when he's gone to the NBA Finals three straight years. He has played in 67 playoff games since 2011.
James first joined Team USA in 2004, when the Americans won a disappointing bronze medal in the Athens Olympics. He has also been on the 2006 World Team, the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament squad and the 2008 Redeem Team. James sat out the 2010 FIBA Championship.
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