LeBron James Selected as Team USA’s Male Flagbearer for 2024 Summer Olympics: ‘An Absolute Honor’

LeBron James will have a special role at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The four-time NBA champion has been chosen as Team USA’s male flagbearer during the Parade of Nations at the Paris Games on Friday, July 26 — an honor that puts him in the history books at the first men’s basketball player to carry the American flag at the Opening Ceremony.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” James said in a statement shared by Team USA.

“For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations,” he continued. “Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”

The Today show was first to report of James’ role, sharing exclusive video of the moment he was told.

Steph Curry — James’ teammate on the men’s basketball Olympic team — delivered the news to the 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward, who is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Flagbearers are voted on by Team USA, and Curry was the one who nominated James for the role.

“We understand how much of an honor it is to be in that position and I think Bron’s entire career, on and off the court, speaks for itself as him being worthy of that honor,” Curry said in his nomination video. “He has represented what it means to be excellent both on and off the court in his commitment to service and to uplifting the community in all ways that he knows how has been a lifelong passion. And the work speaks for itself.”

Team USA’s female flagbearer is expected to be revealed Tuesday, July 23, the Associated Press reported.

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, women’s basketball player Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez hoisted the flags at the Opening Ceremony. In 2022, curler John Shuster and speed skater Brittany Bowe represented Team USA at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Aside from James and Bird, the only other basketball star to hold the flag was Dawn Staley for the Athens Games in 2004.

James learned of his position hours before the men’s team final pre-Olympics exhibition game. They’ll be playing World Cup champion Germany.

This is the fourth time James has been a part of Team USA. He won medals as his previous three outings — gold in London (2012) and Beijing (2008) and bronze in Athens (2004).

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will coach the team at the Paris Olympics. In addition to James and Curry, the men’s national team roster also includes Kevin Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum.

James’ Los Angeles Lakers teammate, Anthony Davis, and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards round out the roster, whose players have a combined history of 11 Olympic appearances and 10 Olympic gold medals.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony will be the first ever held outside an arena. Instead, atheltes will sail down the River Seine towards the Eiffel Tower in boats.

As is tradition, the country that hosts the next Olympics appears as the second-to-last arrivals in the Parade of Nations. With the 2028 Summer Olympics set for Los Angeles, that means viewers hoping to catch James will have to wait towards to the end.

Live coverage of the Opening Ceremony begins at Friday, July 26, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC.