During Steve Kerr’s career as head coach of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James’ career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two were bitter rivals as the Warriors and Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals four consecutive seasons. But since the U.S. team won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, Steve Kerr is now a lifelong LeBron James fan.

During a media segment shortly after the U.S. team won the gold medal at the Olympics, Steve Kerr explained why he became such a big fan of LeBron James now that he had the chance to be his coach.

“What a blessing to finally coach him after so many years of coaching against him and trying to figure out how to beat him,” Kerr said. “Watching him up close … just seeing his approach, his professionalism, how coachable he is and then of course how talented he is, everything, every part of the game he seems to have mastered. I’m thrilled to be able to coach him the last six weeks and I’m a lifelong LeBron fan.”

In the gold medal game against France, James had 14 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a blocked shot. He made 6 of 10 field shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers and sank his only free throw.

LeBron James continues to keep Father Time at a distance

When the 2024-25 NBA season is over, LeBron James will be 40 years old. He will have completed his 22nd season in the league. And he is still playing at an elite level. James signed a new contract with the Lakers this offseason for another two years.

Following the U.S. team’s gold medal win, James hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of competing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He said that he can’t currently imagine competing in 2028, but that he can’t imagine competing in Paris this year.

Last season, James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and became the only player in NBA history to score 40,000 points in a career. He was also named an All-Star for the 20th consecutive year.

James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 54 percent from the field, 41 percent from the three-point line and 75 percent from the free throw line.

The Lakers reached the NBA playoffs as the number 7 seed via the play-ins, but lost in the first round in five games to the Denver Nuggets.