On Sunday, Kevin Durant and Team USA picked up a Gold Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a close win over the French National Team, led by San Antonio Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama. Durant didn't have to do a whole lot in the title game (that was left up to former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry), but there's still no denying his greatness over the years on the Olympics stage.
Earlier in this tournament, Durant made history by becoming the all time Team USA scoring leader, and after the game on Sunday, the future Hall of Famer weighed in on whether he thinks anyone will ever be able to touch that record.
“I can see somebody beating that number,” Durant said, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “Records are made to be broken, like I said. My goal every time is to represent my country, my state, my street, my family. And to help push the game forward. Since I’ve been here, we’ve done that.”
Durant also reflected on the ongoing comparisons between this team and the 1992 “Dream Team.”
“We have built on what the Dream Team did in 1992,” said Durant. “We carried that torch. That was the main goal.”
Meanwhile, Miami Heat star and Durant's Team USA teammate Bam Adebayo is confident that the record will stand for a long while.
“It’s going to be a long time before somebody breaks that record,” Adebayo said. “I’m happy for him. Proud of him. He keeps the main thing the main thing. He continues to play basketball the right way.”
A historic legacy
While he will likely be most synonymous with the work he's put in on the NBA stage (and that resume could continue to grow over the next few years as well), Durant is arguably equally important to advancing the game of basketball on the Olympics stage, helping Team USA win gold medal after gold medal dating back the last several years.
Durant has been a teammate of LeBron James at the Olympics on multiple occasions, and nobody knows of Durant's importance to the game of basketball more than James himself.
“KD is one of the all-time greats,” James said. “If you look at his silhouette, look at his skill, he is one of the best players we have ever seen play the game of basketball. No matter your opinion about him or whether you like him, if you really just look at basketball and say basketball player talent, he is out of this world.”
While it's unlikely that James or Durant will partake in the 2028 Olympics, fans should be happy they got the chance to see them perform at the Olympics again this far into their careers in 2024.
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