Kevin Durant is known as one of the best players in the NBA. The same can be said of how well-respected he is internationally. In fact, Durant has won three Olympic gold medals and one FIBA World Championship. In a Team USA uniform, Durant has only lost one game in FIBA tournaments. Let's rank Kevin Durant's 10 greatest moments in a Team USA uniform.
10. Kevin Durant's first game in Oracle Arena as a Warrior
A lot of NBA fans were disappointed with Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. However, Warriors fans were extremely delighted with Durant's addition.
In fact, his first game since joining the Warriors wasn't in a Warriors uniform. Instead, Durant's first game was with Team USA, where he scorched China with 13 points en route to a 107-57 blowout victory.
9. Kevin Durant's and-one tough dunk
In a gold-medal match against France, Kevin Durant and Team USA had a chip on their shoulder, having lost their last two matchups against them at the international stage.
With the hopes of winning the gold medal, Durant knew he had to play his A-game, as he went off for 29 points. His output included a solid and-one dunk that surely got him hyped up. Thanks to Durant's scoring, Team USA clinched the gold, which was Durant's third.
8. Kevin Durant's perfect shooting night vs. France
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, France were already starting to gain some steam. In fact, they even gave us a glimpse of how they finally figured out how to play Team USA.
At the group phase, Team USA narrowly escaped France with a 100-97 win. Team USA needed every shot from Durant, who finished with 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from downtown and 6-of-6 from the field overall. This included an alley-oop dunk, coming off a pass made by a falling Kyrie Irving.
7. Kevin Durant scorches Argentina with eight threes
Durant is easily one of the most lethal shooters in FIBA competition. In fact, he shoots 49 percent from beyond the arc in a Team USA uniform. While he was an elite shooter, Argentina found out the hard way how unstoppable KD was when left open.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Durant torched Argentina with 28 points, spiked by 8-of-10 shooting on 3-pointers. It was the most number of 3-point field goals made by Durant in a game throughout his Team USA stints.
6. Kevin Durant's 38-point masterpiece against Lithuania
In the Team USA history books, the most points made by a single player playing for USA was 38 points. That very record was set by Kevin Durant at the 2010 FIBA World Championships against Lithuania.
In the process, Durant converted 14 field goals, which also set a Team USA record. Thanks to Durant's outburst, Team USA was able to advance to the gold-medal round despite being dubbed as the B-Team.
5. Kevin Durant's 30-point night in the gold-medal game vs. Spain
At the 2012 London Olympics, Spain was determined to win the gold medal, especially against international rival Team USA. To the surprise of everyone, Spain found a way to keep in step with Team USA until the fourth quarter.
It took a combined clutch effort by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant to pull away from Spain to clinch the gold medal. It marked Durant's second Olympic gold medal.
4. Kevin Durant is the 2010 FIBA World Championship MVP
It's safe to say that the 2010 FIBA World Championship was the coming-out party of Kevin Durant at the international stage. Despite leading a B-Team USA, Durant showcased why he's one of the most lethal scorers both in the NBA and in FIBA.
With a history-making 38-point night against Lithuania and a 28-point performance in the gold-medal match against host team Turkey, Durant was crowned the 2010 FIBA World Championship MVP.
3. Kevin Durant helps set record for most points in a single Olympic game
At the 2012 London Olympics, Team USA managed to win it all. However, before reaching the gold-medal stage, they took care of business against Nigeria by blasting them, 156-73.
The total scoring output by Team USA was an Olympic record for most points in a single game by a team. The game saw Durant chip in with 14 points and six assists while shooting 5-of-9 from the field overall in only 17 minutes of play.
2. Kevin Durant becomes Team USA's all-time scoring leader
After scoring a 3-pointer in a 119-84 victory over the Czech Republic, Kevin Durant broke the U.S. Olympic record for most career-points by a Team USA basketball player, which was a record previously held by Carmelo Anthony.
Durant already has totaled 435 points in a Team USA uniform. He will certainly add to that total once he sees action this year at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Adding a few more points should make the record nearly unbreakable.
1. Kevin Durant ties Carmelo Anthony for most Olympic Gold medals in Team USA history
Only two players have won three Olympic gold medals for Team USA, one of which is Carmelo Anthony, and the other one is Kevin Durant. Durant captured the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Suns star will have a good chance at becoming the sole leader of the medal count at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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