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Kevin Durant is the first player in men’s basketball history to win four Olympic gold medals.
Durant passed three-time Olympic champion Carmelo Anthony for the milestone on Saturday following Team USA’s 98-87 win over France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Team USA’s Kevin Durant becomes the first player to win four Gold Medals in men’s Olympic basketball history. Durant has also scored the most points in USA Olympic history. The two-time NBA Finals MVP cements himself as the most decorated USA Basketball player ever. pic.twitter.com/SjvYRtbEPr
Durant also won gold at the 2012 London Games, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021.
He became Team USA’s all-time leading Olympics scorer on Tuesday during a quarterfinal win over Brazil.
In the gold medal game four days later, Durant contributed 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to help lift Team USA to victory.
Durant’s teammate, LeBron James, meanwhile matched Anthony for the second-most gold medals in USA men’s basketball history by earning his third in Paris. James also claimed gold in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.
James also holds a fourth Olympic medal from when Team USA earned bronze at the 2004 Athens Games.
Being with Team USA on their quest to win gold in Paris was not always guaranteed for Durant, who missed all five of the squad’s Olympic exhibition games with a left calf injury.
But Durant returned for the American’s Olympic opener against Serbia, and ended up playing a key bench role during the team’s run to the gold medal game.
Largely playing as Team USA’s sixth man, Durant averaged 13.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists through four group stage and two knockout games.
He played an important role in Team USA heading into the knockout round as the top seed, racking up 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting during a group play win over Serbia.
During the knockout round, Durant passed Team USA star Lisa Leslie’s 488 career points for the country’s all-time Olympic scoring lead.
In the gold medal game Durant sank two critical free throws in the final three minutes of the game to help Team USA close out their bid for the gold.
Durant will finish the 2024 Paris Games as the first American men’s basketball player to top 500 Olympic points and the eighth player in Olympic men’s basketball history to reach the milestone.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 14:58:00
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