Team USA has cruised to victory on each of their first three friendly matchups ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and they have done so without one of their best players in Kevin Durant on the floor. Durant has been dealing with a strained calf ahead of the Olympics, and while it's not believed to be an overly serious injury, Team USA has been extra cautious with him.
The hope was that this cautious approach would lead to Durant returning for the start of the Games at the very latest. However, it seems like he could be able to return sooner than that, as the latest update on the Phoenix Suns star forward indicated that he's set to return to practice on Friday with the hope that he will be able to play in at least one of their final two exhibition games.
Team USA set for huge boost with Kevin Durant return
Even without Durant, Team USA has pretty easily won each of their first three exhibitions, which is a testament to their extremely deep and star-laden roster. There are going to be tougher challenges down the line, though, and in order for the Americans to be able to overcome them, they are going to need their roster at full health.
That's why getting Durant back is such a big development for Team USA. Even as he approaches the end of his career, Durant hasn't begun to slow down at all yet, and he's fresh off another wildly impressive campaign with the Suns last year (27.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5 APG, 52.3 FG%). If he can play at that level in the Olympics, Team USA will be nearly unbeatable.
Furthermore, in the 2020 Olympics, Durant was Team USA's best player. He averaged 20.7 points per game, and ended up getting named the MVP of the tournament when all was said and done. Considering all the talent around him, Durant won't have to score that amount of points on a nightly basis, but he is a proven winner on this stage, which makes his return such a crucial development.
With all the talent around him, Durant can be eased back into the action once he returns. Head coach Steve Kerr has been tinkering with his starting lineup in the friendly matches, but he can easily bring Durant off the bench and play him sparingly at first before figuring out what they want to do with him next. Even when he's fully healthy, there may not be a need for Durant to start for Team USA.
Either way, there's no doubt this is an extremely positive development for Durant, but Team USA is likely going to still be careful with him until the Games get underway. But assuming he is at full health once the Olympics get underway, beating an already loaded American team is going to be even tougher to do than initially expected.
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