LeBron James and several other Team USA basketball stars were caught leaving an exclusive Paris in the early hours of Monday morning despite facing an imminent training session ahead of Wednesday’s game against upstart South Sudan.
James, Durant, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo were seen leaving through a back entrance of Siena, an Italian restaurant near the Tuileries Garden along the north bank of the Seine. Durant left well before James, who was pictured exiting at 3am local time.
A group of mysterious women were all seen exiting the restaurant as umbrellas were used to shield the celebrity guests and any other friends from lingering photographers. It’s not known if the women were part of the same group as the NBA stars.
Pictures from earlier in the night have also surfaced, showing Team USA’s Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum and even former San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker hanging with restauranteur Mehdi Abdelhedi.
The photos followed Team USA’s win over Nikola Jokic and Team Serbia earlier on Sunday.
LeBron James was seen making his way to the exit at around 3am
Kevin Durant sports a Boston Bruins hat as he makes his way to the exit at Siena
The timing of the shindig was made all the more curious by Team USA’s upcoming schedule.
With all 12 teams having been in action on either Saturday or Sunday, everyone in the men’s tournament at Pierre Mauroy Stadium got Monday off.
For some, that provides a chance to regroup and practice. For others, like the U.S. — which rolled past Serbia in its opener, led by Durant’s brilliant return from a calf issue — it brings a day to relax, recover and go be Team USA fans.
‘It’s huge,’ U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Monday. ‘And it’s also important for us to allow our players to enjoy the Olympic experience, for them to be able to go and watch some of the other sports, be with their families. It’s a huge part of this. That’s what today is about, and then we’ll lock back in tomorrow.’
Miami Heat star and Team USA center Bam Adebayo is pictured leaving a Parisian restaurant
Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis is pictured after hanging out with Team USA in Paris
A woman is pictured leaving Siena in Paris, which is near the Tuileries Garden
Another woman leaves Siena, where members of Team USA were seen partying late Sunday
Translation: teams that go 3-0 in group are definitely in, teams that go 2-1 in group are almost certainly safe barring some wild tiebreaker scenario, teams that go 1-2 in group will need some help but could still move on (two such teams did advance at the Tokyo Games three years ago), and teams that go 0-3 in group are going home early.
The U.S.-South Sudan matchup is one that everyone will be watching, especially after the upstart team from Africa nearly knocked off the Americans in London earlier this month in a 101-100 game that nobody saw coming. The winner of that game will lock up a trip to the quarterfinals.
Serbia-Puerto Rico isn’t an elimination game, but the winner has a much better shot of advancing to next week and the loser will be doing a whole lot of hoping.
South Sudan has made the most so far of its Olympic debut in men’s basketball. The African nation topped Puerto Rico 90-79 on Sunday in its first game.
‘We’re not a secret anymore,’ South Sudan coach Royal Ivey said afterward.
LeBron James is pictured hanging out with restauranteur Mehdi Abdelhedi at Siena
Siena is an Italian restaurant near the Tuileries Garden along the north bank of the Seine
Next up is a rematch with the U.S. on Tuesday. The two met in an exhibition game and South Sudan nearly pulled off a stunning upset. South Sudan qualified for the Olympics by virtue of its performance at the World Cup last year, finishing as the best African team.
The national federation is led by former NBA player Luol Deng.
Furthermore, head coach Royal Ivey is an assistant with the NBA’s Houston Rockets who spent 10 years in the NBA as a player. The New York native started coaching in 2014 in the NBA developmental league before having stints with the Knicks and Nets. He got the South Sudan job in 2021 and has led them ever since.
The team has a few former NBA players on it. Wenyen Gabriel briefly played with James and the Lakers in 2022 and Carlik Jones bounced around with a few teams including Dallas, Denver and Chicago.
Jones had a triple-double in the one-point exhibition loss to the U.S.
