Photo Sharing Shows All Sides of USA Basketball

Step 1: Find a sleeping USA Basketball teammate. Step 2: Move stealthily into position. Step 3: Frame picture. Step 4: Click. Step 5: Tag the photo with “GotEm” or “gotem,” providing an exclamation point when warranted. Step 6: Post to Instagram, so anyone in the world with Internet access can see LeBron James wearing a not-so-manly sleeping mask, or Anthony Davis with an airline blanket pulled snugly around his neck.

Then, boom, “got ’em,” as Love would say.

Approached for an interview about the USA Basketball-Instagram trend he embraced and furthered, Love laughed. “I was about to post one right now,” he said.

Two weeks ago, Love had never heard of Instagram. Now, because of the photo-sharing Web site and other social networks, he considers himself the unofficial team photographer. In recent days, Love posted snapshots of himself dressed in preppy Ralph Lauren attire (Caption: “Getting my Justin Timberlake on”) and of Carmelo Anthony asleep with teammates celebrating in the background (“Weekend at Bernie’s. GotEm.”).

Love is far from alone. His teammate Deron Williams persuaded him to join Instagram. Chris Paul is on it, too, along with James, Paul’s brother and Anthony’s best friend.

Those who follow their feeds regularly could be forgiven for believing all the United States men’s national team players do is sleep.

Such self-documentation is nothing new, of course, not in this age of social media, of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. But this is uncharted territory, too, a glimpse inside areas of the Olympics once closed to the public — like the team bus.

That means fans can now view drool frozen on James’s chin. Or see famous American basketball players dining together at Johnny Rockets, oversized sunglasses covering their eyes.

For all the comparisons between this United States team and the Dream Team from 1992, imagine a picture of Michael Jordan inside a casino or sprawled on the team bus. Imagine Magic Johnson in a sleeping mask, or Larry Bird giddily typing a “gotem” tag. As times changed, so did fans’ access to athletes, if not their actual relationships with them.

“It’s moving in a more accessible direction,” Love said. “Fans dig that. I dig that. It’s a way to share the experience with everybody. They almost feel like they’re with you here.”

Sports, at least from the behind-the-scenes perspective, were not always this way, not even in recent years when it was safe for an all-N.B.A. forward to catch a catnap without fear of a photo op. In those days, athletes might say “got ’em” when they scored an actual basket or won an actual game.

Nate McMillan, a United States assistant, played and coached in the N.B.A., and in all his years, he witnessed something for the first time this week: players preparing for naps by covering their faces with blankets.

“It’s reality,” McMillan said. “That’s what everybody wants now. They want reality TV. They want the instant photographs. The cameras are there, in our locker rooms, huddles, interviewing coaches during games. What happens on the bus was once sacred. Now, it’s part of what the fans want to see.”

The American team took its Instagram cues from Paul, who said his Los Angeles Clippers engaged in a similar practice throughout last season. Their photographs, Paul said, often ended up on “SportsCenter,” fueling the number taken.

Love saw the photo wars as another route to camaraderie, another way to bond. His favorite picture captured seven sleepers: Paul gripping a pillow in a bear hug, James Harden with that unsightly beard tucked into his chest, Russell Westbrook wearing sunglasses inside and even Coach Mike Krzyzewski in the background in what looks like the coach section of the plane.

“They got me yesterday,” Anthony said, his smile stretched as wide as a basketball court. “There will definitely be payback. It’s going to be trouble for Kevin.”