Exclusive Interview

Ahead of the Games in Paris next year, James has reportedly been recruiting fellow NBA stars to gauge their interest in suiting up for the United States with the aim of winning a fifth straight men's basketball gold medal for their country.

Drummond was part of the team that won gold at the 2014 FIBA World Cup but was left off the roster for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and looks an outside shot to be involved in Paris.

However, if James were to call, it would be an easy answer, with Drummond telling Stats Perform: "Yeah, I would go back, I wouldn't think twice. I'll go back.

"Not even just him [James], if anybody from that organisation called me, I would jump because I feel like I owe it to them and I owe it to my country. If I'm requested to service my country, I'm going to do it.

"Especially just the relationship that I have with those people in that organisation. That's a no-brainer.

"Wearing those three letters across the chest is an honour. You're not representing yourself anymore, you are representing the entire nation and it's a surreal thing."

Drummond was left out of the squads for the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, both of which ended with youthful USA teams returning home without a medal.

The Chicago Bulls center believes it is difficult for younger players to adapt to playing overseas.

Drummond also feels the rise of international stars such as Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA exhibits how other countries are improving their national teams, meaning the USA are no longer a dominant force.

"It's a lot different," Drummond explained. "I feel like if you've never played overseas before, and you have never played in front of a hostile crowd, it can become a lot.

"There's a lot that goes into Olympic basketball, and I think nowadays, the international teams have gotten a lot better. If we're all being honest here, I think the players that have come into the NBA have shown that international players are here now. This is their time to showcase themselves.

"So, I don't think any international teams are going to take it lightly on the USA, especially after what we've done to people, year in and year out."

The Lionesses lifted the Euro 2022 trophy and reached the final of the Women's World Cup a year later, but there was no fairytale ending to their Women's Nations League story.

Sarina Wiegman's European champions hammered Scotland 6-0 in their last fixture in Group A1 this month, but the Netherlands' 4-0 win over Belgium saw them top the standings.

Had Olympic qualification been determined by World Cup placings, Team GB would have qualified thanks to their nominated representative England making the final, losing 1-0 to Spain.

However, the new Nations League competition dictates who will travel to Paris next year and Germany, Spain and the Netherlands will now battle for two of three spots alongside hosts France.

Manchester City star Kelly, speaking at the launch of the first ever Panini Barclays Women's Super League sticker collection at the National Football Museum, said: "I think it is the way we bounce back from those losses, I think we can learn a lot from the whole duration of that Nations League.

"Being more consistent throughout the tournament because we left it to the last two games and we cut ourselves short.

"We are a great side and it is about getting some rest now, recovering and going again."

While there will be no Olympic dream for Wiegman and her England players, another European Championship campaign will follow in Switzerland in 2025.

Owing to the difficult task of qualifying for the Games, Parris echoed Kelly's message as she insisted the Lionesses will come back stronger.

Parris added: "It was a disappointment, fine margins, especially when in the Nations League, top teams are playing against each other.

"You do want that competition and it's such a hard route to go to the Olympics for the European sides, but for sure the girls will be super disappointed about the results and not going to the Olympics in 2024.

"The bounce back will be very quick, however. The focus will then go to the Euros and I'm sure everyone is raring and ready to go for the next games."

Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis acknowledged the Lionesses' "failure" but assured Wiegman will use the experience as a learning curve.

Brown-Finnis said: "It's an unusual one, not qualifying for the Olympics, it comes off the back of a Covid-postponed European Championships.

"Obviously we went on and won that one on home soil, so it's a congested fixture period and I'm not making excuses for the failure because all those players desperately wanted to be at the Olympics.

"It's what every national team in women's football aspires to do, to play in their continental championships, the World Cup and the Olympics, one year off and repeat.

"So it's a failure, absolutely, but it didn't happen on the last day against Scotland, it happened in the previous games.

"They'll come back, they'll have the summer off, which I think will definitely be a benefit, and Sarina Weigman, she'll learn from it, she'll learn what her players need.

"She's only two years into her tenure and what a success… she has been unbelievable, so I hope she sticks around for a long time and brings more success to the Lionesses."

Spendolini-Sirieix claimed bronze at the Paris Olympics in the women's synchronised 10m platform, alongside Lois Toulson.

It is the 19-year-old's first medal. She was Team GB's youngest diver at the Tokyo Games at just 16.

Daley also made an early Olympic debut, competing in Beijing in 2008 at 14 years old. Now 30, he added to an already stellar medal collection in Paris, winning silver in the men's synchronised 10m platform with Noah Williams.

And Spendolini-Sirieix is grateful for the influence Daley has had on both her and the sport.

"I really feel like Tom has been the pioneer for diving. He’s really put diving on the map," she said while speaking to Stats Perform at Adidas house.

Daley became the first British diver to win four Olympic medals when he took gold in the 10m synchro at Tokyo 2020 with partner Matty Lee, to add to his three bronze from previous Games.

“Tom has done so much for our sport and as a team-mate, he's been really, really supportive," added Spendolini-Sirieix.

"He makes us laugh with his terrible dad jokes. But he just brings the fun, he brings the excitement and he brings the energy."

Asked whether she thought Daley would compete in Los Angeles in 2028, Spendolini-Sirieix was unsure, but partner Toulson chipped in: "It wouldn't surprise me, knowing Tom."

Just as his personality away from the pool is infectious, Daley's success in it has also rubbed off on the rest of his team.

In Paris, Team GB have the second-best medal haul in diving, only second to China.

They made history by winning medals in all synchro events, with one silver and three bronze.

"Now I really do feel like we've all put diving on the map, and that's the power of sport, it's the power of the Olympics,” said Spendolini-Sirieix, who also finished sixth in the women's 10m platform.

"We can really broadcast the hard work that we've been putting on. And I really do hope that more people tune into diving and try diving, because it's really a beautiful and unique sport."

Spendolini-Sirieix argues that such a feat would not be possible without the support of those behind the scenes.

"We are the ones that are diving, but we really feel like everyone dives with us in our hearts and with us behind our backs. It takes a village to create an athlete," she said.

"Having our family here as well to celebrate with us is the best part. It’s honestly the most amazing feeling."