LeBron James posing with the Olympic gold medal© AFP

South Sudan’s basketball team nearly delivered a stunning upset to a United States team of NBA superstars on Saturday before losing 101-100 in an Olympics warm-up game in London. LeBron James, 39, the all-time NBA scoring leader, registered a game-high 25 points, including the deciding points on a driving layup with eight seconds remaining at the O2 Arena. South Sudan, who led 58-44 at half-time, took a late lead after an 8-0 scoring run and were poised to pull off one of the greatest shocks in international basketball before James saved the day.

“The ending was good for us — just to feel that, to feel what it’s going to feel like in Paris,” US coach Steve Kerr said.

“Good experience for us. Good reminder that when we play against teams, it’s the biggest experience of their lives and we have to expect everyone to play like that.”

J.T. Thor, who has played for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets for the past three seasons, sank a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to put South Sudan into a 100-99 lead.

After James made the winning shot, South Sudan had one final possession but Carlik Jones missed a jumper with six seconds remaining and Wenyen Gabriel missed on two put-back attempts before the final buzzer.

“South Sudan was amazing,” Kerr said. “I did not do a great job of preparing my team. We did not focus enough on what they are capable of and that’s on me.

“I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early.

“Once we turned it up in the second half, they had already knocked down a bunch of threes and were feeling really good about themselves.”

It was James who sparked a 23-5 US run from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth.

“We have to continue to take a step forward,” said James, a two-time Olympic champion and four-time NBA champion.

“A lot of these teams that we’re playing have been practising either one month or months in advance and we have maybe two weeks together.

“So every game, every film session, we get an opportunity. We have to try to make the most of it, not taking any steps back.”

Cameroon-born Joel Embiid, who became a US citizen in 2022, added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Americans.

Anthony Davis came off the bench to produce 15 points and 11 rebounds for the US squad of NBA stars.

“We’re not 100 percent together, as we saw tonight,” Davis said, “But it’s like I said, everything is controllable.”

For South Sudan, ranked 33rd in the world, Marial Shayok scored 24 points, Jones added 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and Thor had 14 points off the bench.

Shayok plays in China and briefly played alongside Embiid with Philadelphia while Jones plays for perennial Serbian power Partizan.

The Americans will face South Sudan again in the Olympics group stages on July 31 at Lille.

Bronny James, the 19-year-old son of NBA superstar LeBron James, scored four points on Saturday in his unofficial Los Angeles Lakers debut, a loss in the NBA California Classic. Sacramento defeated the Lakers 108-94 at the Chase Center in San Francisco in the summer league contest, a showcase for prospects and newcomers to begin working into their team defensive systems and offensive schemes. James, taken 55th in last month’s NBA Draft, started at point guard and played 21 minutes and 43 seconds in the 40-minute contest, finishing with four points on 2-of-9 shooting, 0-of-3 from 3-point range and 0-for-2 from the free throw line.

The former University of Southern California guard also contributed two rebounds, two assists and a steal for the Lakers.

James, who signed a four-year deal with the Lakers, will play alongside his famed parent as part of the NBA’s first father-son duo.

The elder James did not attend the game as he was in Las Vegas with the US Olympic team for their first practice session ahead of an exhibition game against Canada before they travel to Europe ahead of the Paris Olympics.

But he made time in Vegas to watch some video of his son’s first basket, and later told reporters that Saturday’s game was part of a learning process.

“I just hope for (him to get) his feet wet in the NBA — the pace of the game, the speed of the game, the physicality of the game,” LeBron James said.

“But what he does in the California Classic and Summer League, it doesn’t matter if he plays well and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play well. I just want him to continue to grow. Practices, film sessions, his individual workouts.”

Bronny James grabbed his first rebound just 80 seconds into the game then missed his first shot attempt six seconds later.

James was not called for a foul. He was whistled for one early in the second quarter defending a 3-point shot by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed but the Lakers challenged the call and it was overturned upon video review.

Bronny James made his first steal with 6:25 to play in the second quarter.

He scored his first basket with 5:51 remaining in the second period on a driving layup, tying the game at 31-31.

He was grateful for the crowd support he received, something he wasn’t expecting in the Golden State Warriors’ arena.

“The atmosphere was more than I expected,” James said. “It’s a big game for me and I didn’t know people from Golden State would come and rep for me. That was pretty nice to see.”