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Kevin Durant considered a ‘lock’ to start for Team USA

© Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX — Could Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant put together another historic Olympics for Team USA?

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With training camp beginning tomorrow in Las Vegas, Durant, Suns teammate Devin Booker and the rest of the 12-man roster will gear up to pursue the country’s fifth-straight gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Even though Durant is now 35 years old and this is arguably the greatest Team USA Olympic roster assembled since the 2008 “Redeem Team,” The Athletic’s Joe Vardon labeled Durant a “lock” to start, along with Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.

“The third lock to start is Kevin Durant, who is 6-11, an outrageously versatile two-way player, and the greatest clutch player in USA Basketball history. No one has delivered more, and more often, with a gold medal on the line than Durant, who, in four gold-medal contests (three at the Olympics and another at the FIBA World Cup), is averaging 29.5 points. Beyond that, Durant is the most prolific scorer in U.S. men’s history, with 640 points overall (Olympics and FIBA).

Durant’s career Olympic numbers certainly back up the claim that he should start. He is first in nearly every major scoring category in Team USA men’s basketball history.

Durant’s Team USA History:

  • Teams:
    • 2010 Turkey FIBA World Championship (won gold)
    • 2012 London Olympic Games (won gold)
    • 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games (won gold)
    • 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympic Games (won gold)
  • Total Stats: 
    • 20.6 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 2.8 APG | 1.3 SPG | 0.7 BPG on 53.8/48.8/87.7 splits in 27.7 MPG (31 games)
  • Achievements: 
    • USA Men’s Basketball all-time Olympic leading point scorer (435 points)
    • Three-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016, 2021)
    • One-time FIBA Gold Medalist (was the team’s first FIBA championship since 1994)
    • FIBA World Championship MVP (2010)
    • Three-time USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2010, 2016, 2021)

Vardon’s article was focused on if LeBron James should also start. Along with James, the other candidates Vardon named for these final two spots were Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard.

However, Vardon writes: “James coming off the bench, probably won’t happen. I spoke with two USA Basketball sources and both cast serious doubt on the idea.”

Still, coach Steve Kerr will have a difficult task at hand trying to find playing time for all of these stars.

“It’s a great question,” Kerr said last week. “My staff and I have talked about it quite a bit, it’s a good problem to have, but I think I’m guessing that all 12 players on this roster will be in the Hall of Fame someday. So how do you pick five out of 12? The idea is you find combinations that click and you find two-way lineups that can be effective at both ends. So our big job in Las Vegas is to find five-man combinations that fit and to just ask all 12 guys to fully commit to the goal of winning a gold medal no matter what it looks like, no matter who’s playing.”

Team USA will play five exhibition games before it heads to Paris, the first of which will be on July 10 in Las Vegas against Team Canada. Their first matchup of the Olympics will be on July 28 against Serbia.

Who do you think should start for Team USA?

Kevin Durant reacts to Caitlin Clark not making Team USA

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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