In the final scene of Spike Lee’s beloved, sports-movie-pantheon-occupying He Got Game, an incarcerated Denzel Washington rockets a basketball over the prison yard wall. The ball magically transcends space and time, landing on the court of Big State and in the hands of his son, played by Ray Allen. The mysticism of the ending remains polarizing, but it beautifully expressed a passing of the torch, a transfer of energy, in a way that few filmmakers have done before or since. Twenty-five years later, in an electric T-Mobile Center on Wednesday evening, I was reminded of this moment as Team USA’s LeBron James collected a defensive rebound, spotted Anthony Edwards running back in transition, and propelled a full-court, quarterback-style pass to him, which Edwards converted with a dunk at the other end: basketball’s present, and soon-to-be past, throwing the ball to its clear future. Two timelines overlapping. It was poetry.
“It was crazy,” Edwards told the Guardian when asked about the transcendent moment. “It’s crazy, man, playing on the court with LeBron and Steph. It’s a dream come true. I remember watching them going against each other in the finals. So being in the room with them, on the bus with them, all of it. I’m just soaking everything up.”
Though he is clearly relishing the opportunity to be surrounded by his childhood heroes, Edwards showcased his patented braggadocio earlier in the week, saying he still felt like “the number one option”, even on a team comprised of older, more seasoned future Hall of Famers. And he’s not necessarily wrong, at least not if early results are any indication. Though Edwards came off the bench in the United States’ first public showing ahead of the Paris Olympics, an 86-72 win over Canada in an exhibition on Wednesday, he proved himself to be an invaluable contributor, and perhaps deserving of a starting spot, even as the youngest player on the roster.
Head coach Steve Kerr’s starting five, comprised (for now) of James, Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Joel Embiid (who fouled out after only 12 minutes) got off to a slow start. A Canada team with a record 10 NBA players on their roster looked like the side with all the vim and vigor. That was, at least, until the Americans’ second unit came in. That unit was highlighted by Edwards (who will turn 23 during the Olympics), Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum. The decidedly younger group injected much needed defensive intensity into the contest for the United States, which carried over into the next appearances by the starting unit and paved the way for a decisive USA victory.
The second half, after the energy infusion by Edwards and co, made for euphoric basketball-watching. Of course, there was the inherent novelty of seeing so many all-time greats on the same floor – the team has been referred to as the Avengers, and for good reason – and an uproarious crowd of 20,757 in the stands, a record for any game at T-Mobile Arena. There was former US president Barack Obama casually taking in the show from a courtside seat, along with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and a slew of other retired NBA legends with Olympic pedigrees as featured guests of USA Basketball. But beyond all this, there was an unmistakable electricity that coursed throughout the arena, due to one specific factor: these guys, young and old, seasoned and fresh, were very clearly having the time of their lives out there.
One moment to demonstrate this comes especially to mind: during a feverish fast break in the third quarter, as Team USA were starting to pull away with a lead they would maintain until the final buzzer, James grabbed yet another rebound, which he threw to Curry in transition. Curry flew down the court, tongue wagging, the 39-year-old James in hot pursuit, before lobbing it back to LeBron for a thunderous dunk.
I gasped with delight along with my fellow media members on press row as the crowd was set ablaze in awestruck joy. A Steph and LeBron two-man game: will wonders never cease? And the longtime friendly rivals, beaming at each other, were clearly savoring the moment as much as anyone.
“It was pretty amazing, that at this point in our careers we’re still able to showcase our talent, do what we love to do, and give a little back to the fans,” James told the Guardian when asked how it felt to join forces with a one-time foe with whom he’s had so many legendary battles over the years. “So it was an absolute treat, because he’s one of the greatest to ever play this game. I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer.”
Team USA has a few more tune-up games ahead of them before starting their chase a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris on 27 July. Next they travel to Abu Dhabi for exhibitions against Australia and Serbia, where the will be joined (in spite of some very public protestations by Jaylen Brown) by Kawhi Leonard replacement Derrick White, and, hopefully, a currently sidelined Kevin Durant. Then a pair of games against South Sudan and Germany next week at London’s O2 Arena. But with just four days of training camp and one glorified scrimmage under their belt so far, the stacked USA men’s national team likes their chances. “We have a combination of guys as far as skills, age, height. We have a very diverse group, and it helps us,” Davis, who recorded a double-double in the team’s first outing, told the Guardian after the game. “Obviously, LeBron, Steph, KD, are the older guys. In the middle, there’s me, Jrue, Joel. Then you have guys like Tyrese, Bam [Adebayo], Ant, who are younger. We have a good combination.”
Almost always, nostalgia exists exclusively in hindsight. It is incredibly rare to be firmly grounded in the present but still hyper-aware of how singular a moment it is that you occupy. To be clear-eyed that you’re living through a time that will be talked about with reverence to future generations: “I was around for that.” But as I watched the very best of basketball’s soon-to-be past, present and future coalesce for one passing moment this week, in a Marvel-esque shattering of the constraints of the multiverse, it struck me that this indeed was one of those moments. Gold medal or not, this is a team we’ll tell our kids about.