James - File

MACAU (AP):

LeBron James was already one of the NBA's best players by the time he slipped on USA jerseys in 2004 and 2006.

Problem was, the United States had enough good players. What the Americans really needed was someone to be a strong leader, but King James wasn't quite ready yet.

Now, one of the biggest reasons the United States is the favourite for the gold medal is because James has realised that this team doesn't just need him to be the player he is for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It needs him to be comfortable with taking over a game or taking control of a time-out.

"I feel like I have to raise my leadership level to a new height when I get with these guys. It's just how I am as a person and as a player," James said yesterday before practice. "I'm a born leader, so I do whatever it takes for our team to understand what it means to win."

Gained Respect

It wasn't always that way, though. The player who once would have allowed veterans such as Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant to be the team leaders now shares that role with them.

"There's a lot of respect for LeBron," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I think LeBron these last two years, as good as he was, he's really grown to be a very complete basketball player."

After the disappointment of the 2004 Olympics, when he played little following his rookie season on the team that won the bronze medal, James could have let the experience sour him on international play.

Instead, he quickly committed to joining the team again when Jerry Colangelo began assembling the programme in late 2005, then became one of the loudest American voices telling everyone that kind of flop won't happen again this time.

Then, last summer, he spent all off-season working to correct the few weaknesses in his game, an inconsistent jumper that the San Antonio Spurs forced him to take - and too often miss - during their sweep of the Cavaliers in the NBA finals.

Carlos Boozer has been watching James even longer, since they played together in both Cleveland and Athens in 2004. And he knows the difference in his teammate now is a reason the Americans shouldn't expect the same disappointment in these Olympics.

"He's just grown a lot. He's just matured just like anybody else," Boozer said. "As you continue to grow in age and grow in experience, you grow in maturity and he's definitely done that and at the same time he's become one incredible leader."