PARIS – Barring any last-minute setbacks, Kevin Durant will make his 2024 debut with Team USA versus Serbia in their first game of the Paris Olympics after he missed the entire exhibition campaign with a calf strain, coach Steve Kerr said.
The Americans, favorites to win a fifth consecutive gold medal, play NBA superstar Nikola Jokić and the Serbians at 11:15 am (ET) Sunday.
Durant, 35, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. men, had passed every test before Saturday’s practice after suffering a strained left calf days before the Americans’ Olympic training camp began July 6.
“So far, so good,” Kerr said of Durant. When asked if he expected Durant to play Sunday, Kerr said “hopefully” — referring to the perennial All-Star making it through Saturday’s practice with no trouble.
Kerr said he had not decided if Durant would start or come off the bench, but in the portions of practice available to the media, Durant was working with USA’s second unit.
Durant, who is trying to become the only men’s basketball player to win four gold medals, could not do anything other than shoot on the side until the team arrived in London late last week. He ramped up his practices after the U.S. made it to France with a team practice Wednesday in Lille and a scrimmage Thursday in a Parisian suburb.
The Americans chose to keep Durant on the roster, which was finalized this week, rather than send him home like they did Kawhi Leonard (knee injury) because they felt he would be healthy enough to play — if not in the opening games but then later for tournament knockout stages on Aug. 5.
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Durant is the most prolific scorer in U.S. men’s history. He has 640 points overall (Olympics and FIBA World Cup play), the most points scored in a single Olympics and a single FIBA competition, the second-most points in a single Olympics and the most points in a FIBA game. No player, male or female, has averaged more points per game in the Olympics than Durant with 19.8, nor has any American averaged more in an Olympic tournament than Durant’s 20.7 points in the Tokyo Games.
“Instant impact,” LeBron James said when asked about Durant’s imminent return. “He looked extremely (good) the other day in practice. Obviously his wind and his rhythm are going to continue to come, but if we’re able to get him back, it makes a huge impact to our club.”
Meanwhile, USA center Joel Embiid did not attend practice Saturday due to an illness, but he also is expected to play against Serbia. Also, the arson attack on French railways Friday morning caused Team USA to take a bus to Lille after Saturday’s practice, where they will stay overnight before playing Serbia on Sunday.
(Photo: Garrett W. Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5662289/2024/07/27/kevin-durant-injury-team-usa-olympics/
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Publish date : 2024-07-27 18:14:40
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