Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson knows why Team USA is struggling in the Olympics: they don't have LeBron James.

The basketball Hall of Famer didn't hold back his thoughts after Team USA's 83-76 loss to the French national team in their Tokyo Olympics opener. For Johnson, the national squad is simply lacking a leader of LeBron's caliber.

Johnson went as far as saying that the Lakers forward is the “best leader in the game of basketball and someone who makes his teammates better.”

While Magic Johnson might be right, it's really not certain how big of a difference the Lakers leader would have made had he opted to join the national team. After all, Team USA has a couple of veterans in Kevin Durant and Draymond Green who have played on the international stage before and succeeded.

Unfortunately for Team USA, their lack of playing time together and unfamiliarity with FIBA officiating seemed to be the major problems hindering them to unleash their full potential. As Evan Fournier said after helping France take down the American giants: “They are better individually but they can be beaten as a team.”

Of course, LeBron James remains a freak of nature and can impact games in a variety of ways. His three trips to the Olympics would have surely come in handy for a Team USA squad struggling to adjust to international basketball. Nonetheless, it's not like the national squad didn't try to lure him to play and help them win the Olympic gold once again.

Johnson, who was part of the 1992 Dream Team, surely knows how important it is to have a true leader on the national squad. However, it seems he is not seeing anyone from the current squad step up into that role in the Tokyo Olympics.