LeBron James even has handshakes with Team USA’s practice players

Part of being a teammate with LeBron James is getting a special handshake with him and that hasn’t changed even with Team USA this Summer.

LeBron James is already well underway to a historic run with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

He was the flag bearer for the USA at the opening ceremony, was dominant in Team USA’s opening game versus Serbia and seems to be taking in all the LeMoments he’s having at his final Olympic games as an athlete.

Part of having that fun and keeping things normal is LeBron creating his individual handshakes with his teammates.

This has been an ongoing thing for the King to do with his NBA teammates. Doing so for a team he’ll only be a part of this summer may seem like a bit much, but LeBron has taken things a step further.

Langton Galloway, a practice player for Team USA, told Marc J. Spears of Andscape in a recent article that LeBron even had an individual handshake with him.

“[July 17 against Serbia], I’m on the bench and normally dapping up everybody. LeBron actually came up with a handshake for us [three practice players]. I was like, ‘Whoa!’ That was a moment. I know he has all these handshakes with everybody, but that was special. That was special. He doesn’t have to do that. Obviously, he has everything else going on, but that was cool. That was cool. We have our handshake and that was his idea. I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

From the Team USA players voting him the best player on the squad to D'Angelo Russell attending the first USA game to cheer on his Lakers teammate and now Galloway talking glowingly about this moment, one thing that’s stood out from LeBron's Olympic run is how much these guys are legitimate fans of him.

LeBron returns the favor, sharing his love and admiration for these guys through his words, calling Kevin Durant an “out-of-this-world talent,” and his actions, like creating these handshakes with anyone involved in Team USA basketball.

It may seem trivial, but these are the kinds of factors that matter when building chemistry. It creates good vibes and is part of what LeBron does to make players feel included. Everyone matters and all are involved. When you add up his chalk toss, these handshakes and, most importantly, his play, the hope is that mixing it all together will deliver the gold back to America.

So far, it’s been a memorable experience for all who have gotten to witness LeBron’s play. If Team USA can keep it up, they’ll prove that while the rest of the world might be catching up to the States, there's still a bit of distance between the best and whoever’s next.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.