April 2 - LeBron James (pictured), the world's top basketball player, has been warned that he could be jeopardising his chances of playing for the United States at the London 2012 Olympics if he misses this year's World Championships in Turkey to make a movie.


The Cleveland Cavaliers star has revealed that he is unlikely to play in this year's Championships, which are due to be held between August 28 and September 12, because he becomes a free agent this summer and he is also scheduled to make a film called Fantasy Basketball Camp, a comedy set in Las Vegas.

He said: "I got a really, really, really, really, really busy summer.

"There are a lot of decisions I need to make this summer before I decide to get back out on the court."

But USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, who has been trying to persuade the top NBA stars to commit to the national team on a more regular basis than every four years when the Olympics comes round, has claimed that if James misses Turkey then his place in London in 2012 could be at risk.

James played in the World Championships three consecutive summers from 2006 to 2008, was a member of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens and captain of the 2008 Olympic team that won the gold medal in Beijing.

Colangelo said: "If someone chooses not to play this summer just because he chooses not to play, there's no guarantee he'll be in London.

"There are no free passes to London.

"There are no special rules for anyone.

"If someone decides to pass without a legit issue, they do it with an understanding of the risk.

"That doesn't mean nobody could [return to the team] if they didn't participate [in Turkey].

"It all depends on the reason.

"We've taken into account players have personal lives.''

The US are in the same group as Argentina, who beat them to the Olympic gold medal at Athens, Spain, who are the defending world champions, and Greece, the runners-up four years ago.

The US have lifted the World Championship title on three occasions but have not won it since 1994.

They finished third in Japan four years ago.

Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade and Toronto Raptors Chris Bosh are other players who may miss the tournament in Turkey because they become free agents during the summer.

But Colangelo claims the situation will not become a concern to him until July when the Americans are due to report to a pre-World Championship training camp.

He said: "Why speculate now when it's still too early?" .

"I don't even care at this point.

"I'll care when we get to July."


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February 2009: USA basketball chief wants to begin preparations for London 2012 early