LeBron James has myriad attributes that make him one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived.
The King has an almighty repertoire of skills and abilities in his almost infinite arsenal, ranging from size, speed, power, strength, ballhandling, vision, passing skill, IQ and finesse.
4
Arguably James' greatest quality, however, is something much more intangible.
Leadership.
LeBron has been the de facto leader of every team he has ever represented during his 22-year Hall of Fame career.
19-year-old rookie or 39-year-old veteran, Olympics team or All-Star squad, it hasn't mattered - James has been the commander-in-chief of every unit he's ever graced a basketball hardwood with.
READ MORE NBA
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knows first-hand just how far James' leadership can take a team.
In 2016, the NBA's all-time leading scorer rallied his Cleveland Cavaliers to a world championship after finding themselves in a 3-1 Finals hole - the first time such a comeback has ever been staged, all at the expense of Kerr and his Golden State dynasty.
Fast forward to 2024 and Kerr and James are on the same team, Team USA, who are a little over a week away from tipping off their first group stage game at the Paris Olympics against Serbia and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Nine-time champion Kerr (five as a player, four as a head coach), is used to being around some of the giants of the game. He's spent his entire career in the presence of great leaders, from Michael Jordan to Tim Duncan and Draymond Green.
4
4
But even he is 'blown away' by James' infectious leadership - something the four-time Finals MVP has exhibited throughout Team USA's practice sessions and games leading up to Paris.
"Pretty amazing," Kerr said of LeBron to a team of reporters, including talkSPORT, ahead of two exhibitions games in London.
Most read in Basketball
"I'm just blown away by his effort, concentration and focus on every single drill.
"He talks, you know even in a shoot around walkthrough his voice is behind the play, yelling out what's happening, laying out the scheme.
"His leadership by example, is incredible - I mean, I've known that forever but to see it up close is pretty special."
Two-time Olympic gold medalist James has seen it all and won it all during his illustrious career.
He'd be forgiven for adopting a reserve role at what's likely to be his final Olympic Games as emerging stars like Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum take the torch.
At the 1992 Games, NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were Dream Team co- captains, but ascending star Michael Jordan was clearly the best player on the team.
Bird largely took a backseat during those Olympics, which allowed back-to-back MVP and NBA champion MJ the chance to flourish and lead the US to gold.
4
There'll be little chance of James following suit in the French capital next week.
LeBron, along with Steph Curry and Joel Embiid, have been the three staples in Kerr's starting unit during recent warm-up games.
Kerr recently said he isn't planning to deviate from that plan meaning James will continue to see a large proportion of the available minutes.
"I like those three guys in the starting lineup. We've been looking at other guys around them, and we obviously have a lot of great options, but I do like those three guys," Kerr said.
For James to still be such an integral cog in the Team USA machine is testament to his astonishing longevity.
The King already has a laundry list of a resume, and adding another Olympic gold, after winning one in 2008 and 2012, will hardly do his legacy any harm.
James is now part of a roster that includes fellow NBA icon Curry for the first time in their careers.
After being adversaries for so many years, James and Curry finally get to experience what it's like as teammates in competition play - an opportunity Kerr says both men are relishing.
"LeBron and Steph are really excited to play together," Kerr said on a Zoom call with talkSPORT and others.
"I've talked to both of them about this idea of being together after going against one another with such high stakes over the years.
"To find over the course of the practices and the friendlies, to find some of the nuances that they can really exploit and explore, to just to see where they can have an impact for each other.
"They're both really, really excited about about the idea of competing together."
The King and The Splash Brother are currently in London with Team USA ahead of exhibition games against South Sudan and Germany on Saturday and Monday, respectively.
They will then travel to France for the 2024 Olympics which take place from Friday July 26 to Sunday August 11.
