LeBron James is still undecided whether he would play in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, at least not publicly. But he did say that the chance to play for new USA Basketball head coach Gregg Popovich will definitely be a big consideration.

James praises Popovich

"It factors a lot," James said during the Cleveland Cavaliers' shootaround Saturday morning before the Cavs go up against Popovich's San Antonio Spurs. "I've said that before. He's just a great mastermind of the game of basketball," James continued

According to ESPN, Popovich, whom James described simply as the greatest coach of all time this week, was the assistant coach for the 2004 Team USA squad that came away with a bronze in Athens. James, coming off his amazing rookie season in the NBA, was a major role player on that team.

On October 2015, Popovich was named as Mike Krzyzewski's successor to man the senior national men's basketball program. James, who is a gold medalist in 2008 and 2012, told the Associated Press at the time that Team USA is in good hands under coach Pop's guidance.

Asked on Saturday about James' compliment about him, Popovich joked that perhaps James had a motive of saying so.

Popovich reacts on James' compliment

"I [said] this morning, he owes me a lot of money and he thinks that I'll forget his debt if he says something nice about me," he said before his Spurs took on the Cavs. "And he's also trying to set us up, so we'll walk in soft and think it's going to be a picnic.

"But we've had a lot of fun over the years going at each other on the court, so I respect the hell out of him. I've really enjoyed his progression because now he truly is 'The King.'

According to RealGM, whether James will play for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics remains to be seen. But it would be no doubt that coach Pop would be a factor in his decision.

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