National Basketball Association

LeBron James isn't ruling out an Olympic comeback

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:12 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Although Team USA remains an overwhelming favorite to win gold in Rio, there's no question that this squad could use LeBron James. Instead, LeBron's at home, resting up after six straight trips to the NBA Finals.

Yet LeBron's absence from this roster doesn't mean he's done as an Olympic basketball player, as he told ESPN's Rachel Nichols this week:

"Every time I watch 'em, I wish I was out there ... I did not retire from Team USA. I just did not play this summer. So I still left the door open.

If LeBron wants to play, there will absolutely be a spot for him on the roster headed into the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The only limiting factor could be his own NBA career.

Four years from now, LeBron will have accumulated more total minutes played than Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. He'll only be 35 years old, so maybe he'll still have enough left in the tank to play in the Olympics. But his biggest concern is rings — and to continue to win titles, LeBron's going to need all the rest he can get.

One more title in the next four years would give LeBron four championships, one shy of the likes of Duncan, Kobe and Magic Johnson. Should he join that esteemed group, LeBron can make a real claim as the greatest basketball player who ever lived.

And if LeBron can somehow get to five titles before 2020? There's no way he'd play in the Olympics at that point, since he'd be chasing Michael Jordan's legend (and his six rings).

The only way it makes sense for LeBron to play in the Tokyo Olympics, then, is if he's still sitting on three championships four years from now. Otherwise, there's too much on the line for the King in the NBA.