The theory of everything: USA’s latest dream team is true basketball nirvana

Anthony Edwards, left, and LeBron James of the United States warm up ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition against Canada at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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.

Related: Obama’s code-switching USA Basketball greetings evoke Key & Peele sketch

“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…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/theory-everything-usa-latest-dream-103048351.html

Author : The Guardian

Publish date : 2024-07-12 10:30:48

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.