A man who went viral this week after he was filmed arriving at Team USA‘s men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics with multiple tubs of candy has revealed why the sweet treats are so ‘important’ for the players.
During an appearance on Today on Thursday morning, Ellis Dawson – whose official job title is director of national operations – spoke about the specific candy that superstar players such as LeBron James like to tuck into.
As hosts Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker dived into bags of candy, Savannah confirmed: ‘You’re actually USA men’s basketball director of national operations, which means candy and uniforms and other things….’
Ellis quickly replied: ‘Yeah, but this is the most important thing for our guys. One of my roles is just to make sure we have everything ready for the players.’
Hoda, 59, quickly asked: ‘Which is LeBron’s fave?’ to which Ellis responded: ‘You know, it kind of varies. Everything just kind of goes with his mode and his mood,’ as Craig, 45, pointed out: ‘These are cough drops!’
The USA basketball team’s director of national operations Ellis Dawson pictured with Al Roker on Today on Thursday morning
Ellis went viral on Wednesday after he was spotted arriving at Team USA’s basketball team carrying boxes and bags of candy
Ellis explained: ‘Yeah coaches love cough drops because when they talk and yell and they have to raise their voice…,’ as Al, 69, asked: ‘Who likes the Werther’s Originals?’
Without hesitation, Ellis replied: ‘That’s a Dawn Staley favorite, but it’s also one of our favorites, kind of a lot of our staff likes to have them and it’s just like a nice, soothing… and it’s also a comfort from home. It’s hard to find this candy here.’
However, Al wasn’t quite done with his questions and went on to ask: ‘How about the Jolly Ranchers?’ referring to the multi-colored sweet hard candy.
‘Those are kind of a favorite from a lot of people,’ Ellis confirmed, before teasing:’ But we have a red and green favorite… that if we don’t have red and green, this one player… we’ve had a moment where we’ve had to like take it away.’
‘Well, whatever you did yesterday, keep doing it!’ Craig then told him, referring to Team USA’s win against South Sudan at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in France on Wednesday.
After NBC Sports posted footage on TikTok of Ellis arriving at the game, fans flooded the comments section with one person joking: ‘Where was this position on career day?’
Another TikTok user asked: ‘How do I apply for this job? Very organized and detail-oriented,’ and a third simply said: ‘It’s the Target ziploc bag for me, super American.’
A fourth person commented: ‘That’s gotta be a great job!’ and another asked: ‘How do I get that job????? Feel like I could make an excellent candy salad.’
Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker interviewed Ellis at their studio in front of the Eiffel Tower
Ellis brought plenty of candy for the hosts to enjoy, including Jolly Ranchers and Werther’s Originals
Ellis revealed player LeBron James, pictured here on July 31, goes with ‘his mode and his mood’ when it comes to candy
A different person pondered: ‘Why did I go to college when I could do this instead?!’ and another pointed out: ‘We all need a candy guy in our lives.’
Someone else claimed: ‘You guys don’t understand how much candy they consume. They training facilities have big bowls of candy in the break room and in almost every office.’
Team USA secured a win against South Sudan on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop fans from torching Jayson Tatum after he missed an open three.
After remaining on the bench for the Americans’ opening win over Serbia, the newly-crowned NBA champion got the nod to start on Wednesday.
Tatum joined James as well as Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, and Devin Booker against the South Sudanese squad that nearly beat them in an exhibition earlier in July.
