LeBron James confirms No. 1 spot over Anthony Edwards with winning layup in Olympics warmup

Team USA turned to LeBron James to score the winning shot against South Sudan despite Anthony Edwards claiming he was the No. 1 option heading into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

James led the scoring for Team USA as South Sudan ran the reigning Olympic champions close, going into half-time with a 58-44 lead. An inspiring half-time team talk from head coach Steve Kerr spurred Team USA on as they scored 37 points in the third quarter alone.

A tight fourth set up a nail-biter and a three-pointer from South Sudan left 20 seconds on the clock for Team USA to respond. The team went with the tried and tested, James, a two-time Olympic champion, instead of young hotshot Edwards.

James rose high to score a game-winning layup - his 22nd and 23rd points of the night to edge Team USA one point ahead of South Sudan, who will join them in Paris later this month. "We wanted to get him the ball," Kerr said on getting James into a game-defining position. "Had a few options - get LeBron down the hill. He's so powerful and he made a great play."

READ MORE: Angel Reese left devastated as family miss first WNBA All-Star Game

READ MORE: How to buy Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese WNBA All-Star jerseys

The African country came painfully close to causing an upset inside London's O2 Arena, getting close to the rim - but they were unable to convert their final shot. Official scorers credited Edwards with the game-saving block but the South Sudanese wanted a foul called.

It wasn't Edwards' finest night. However, the 22-year-old, the youngest on the Team USA roster, was in Kerr's closing lineup, in a nod of acknowledgment toward his impressive two-way ability. Veteran James issued a word of warning to his teammates, though, giving a much-welcomed reminder that time is not on Team USA's side.

“We do not have a lot of time to continue to not take a step forward,” said James told reporters. “It doesn’t matter when it comes to how close the game is and whatnot. Did we get better? I felt like in the first half we allowed ’em to get comfortable. They started hitting 3s and then in the second half we played our style of basketball.”

Kerr took responsibility for Team USA's underwhelming outing. “I did not do a great job preparing our team,” American coach Kerr said. “I think we did not focus enough on what they’re capable of and that’s on me.”

"I think there is a tendency at times to let down. … This was kind of a natural letdown game that you fear,” Kerr continued, with world champions Germany up next on Monday. “I think because it was a friendly.

"I think we let our guard down as a team, as a staff for sure. But what we’ve learned with USA basketball is that the gap has closed.”