The King and the Splash Brother did exactly what they were supposed to do - just about.
The 2024 USA Basketball Men's National Team narrowly beat Germany 92-88 in front of a hyped up crowd at the 02 Arena on Monday night to finish their Olympics warm up games undefeated.
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Steve Kerr's team kicked their international tour off with wins against Canada, Australia and Serbia before avoiding a huge upset against a spirited South Sudan in London on Saturday.
Team USA - made up of a dizzying array of All-Star and All-NBA talent - ended their five-game exhibition run with a tough win against world champions Germany - who stunned the US last year to reach the final of the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila.
LeBron - who earlier in the day was announced as the male flagbearer for the US at the Olympics - set the tone early on, rolling back the years against the European basketball powerhouse with an impressive reverse dunk.
His second made field goal was just as crowd-pleasing as he threw down a a perfectly-timed Jrue Holiday alley-oop.
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Germany kept things close and before the end of the quarter Team USA were up 29-19.
The Germans cut the lead down to five in the second quarter and LeBron and Steph were soon back out on the floor together.
Curry had 13 points but endured an uncharacteristically poor shooting night, going 5-of-13 from the field as he struggled to find his rhythm.
Michael Jordan clone Anthony Edwards then showed the UK crowd why he's the next big thing in the NBA with a pair of stunning dunks.
His most vicious came after crossing up a defender on the break and throwing down a nasty tomahawk slam that brought the 19,177 fans in attendance - the largest in crowed in O2 basketball history - to their feet.
Down 48-41 at halftime, Germany rallied in the third quarter and briefly took the lead.
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The distinctly pro German crowd was loving their effort on both sides of the ball and loudly chanted, "DEFENSE, DEFENSE!" whenever the world champs needed a stop.
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Germany attacked and made big basket after big basket and Team USA found themselves down 68-71 heading into the fourth quarter.
Curry and Devin Booker came up with huge three-point plays to restore the American's lead and then it was all about LeBron.
The 39-year-old King proved he's still one of the best basketball players in the world by taking over in the fourth quarter with 11 points, a testament to his astonishing longevity.
The four-champion did a little bit of everything, rebounding, bringing the ball up up the court and getting timely buckets - just like his game-winning layup against South Sudan on Saturday with eight seconds remaining.
A pair of missed free throws didn't derail his hot hand, and he hit a huge three to ice the game and reacted by reminding the sell-out crowed that ice courses through his veins.
James led Team USA with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, plus six rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes of action.
Joel Embiid scored 15 points while Anthony Davis and Edwards scored 11 and 10, respectively.
“It was a good test for us. And I’m glad we were able to once again, you know, keep our composure, persevere like we did the other day versus South Sudan,” James said. “It was a good win for us.”
Team USA will now head to Paris with the hopes of emulating what Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird achieved in 1992 with their all-conquering Dream Team.
Like Steve Kerr’s team, Chuck Daly’s Hall of Fame squad went undefeated in their Olympics warm ups - save for a practice defeat to a bunch of college kids - winning the Tournament of the Americas before landing in Barcelona, Spain.
That star-studded team, which also featured NBA MVPs Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and David Robinson, stomped on every team they faced in Olympic play, winning by an average margin of 44 points en route to the gold medal.
They were so dominant that they scored more than 100 points in every game (averaging 117.3 points per game) and never called a single timeout.
The Dream Team left an indelible mark on both basketball and the Olympics, and their legacy has only grown with the passage of time. They provided the inspiration for Kobe Bryant’s '08 ‘Redeem Team’ and their impact is still felt on Team USA today.
Steve Kerr’s 2024 version shares many similarities with that team but the Golden State man thinks context is needed when comparing the vastly different rosters.
"I think from the standpoint of career achievement, this team is probably as decorated as any since the '92 Dream Team," Kerr told a room of reporters, including talkSPORT.
"The difference is in 1992, the world wasn't anywhere close to as good as it is now in terms of basketball popularity and globalization of the game."
"That USA team was never threatened, so the difference is that yes, we have a star-studded team filled with Hall of Famers, but we have an altogether different challenge with great teams like Serbia, France, Germany, and Spain, assuming Spain qualifies.
"This is an entirely different competition than it was in 1992."
Kerr’s correct. The ‘92 team faced Angola in their first game and came up against the likes of Brazil, Germany and Spain, who were nowhere near the level they’re at today.
When LeBron, Curry and Durant land in the French capital this week, they will be facing much stiffer competition than what MJ, Bird and Magic ran into.
Familiar NBA stars like Victor Wembanyama (France), Josh Giddey (Australia), Jamal Murray (Canada), Dennis Schroder (Germany), Rui Hachimura (Japan), Bol Bol (South Sudan) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) will do their best to spoil the US party, and are testament to the global nature of basketball and how far it's come.
Nevertheless, Team USA are still overwhelming favorites to claim gold in France.
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Their first group game of the 2024 Olympics will be against Nikola Jokic and Serbia on July 28.
They will finish their group stage with games against South Sudan on July 31 and Puerto Rico on August 3.