Kevin Durant made a statement this summer in Tokyo.
Not only did he lead Team USA to a gold medal, but he did so after a long and grueling season in which he carried his own team in the Brooklyn Nets.
It would have been easy for Durant to sit out the Olympics, as other stars did, and just focus on the next NBA season.
He chose to play and the result was him dominating on a global stage en route to his third gold.
List of U.S. men's basketball players to average 20 PPG in a single Olympics:
🇺🇸 Kevin Durant
That's it, that's the list. pic.twitter.com/ePdRAuxaC6
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 7, 2021
Actual Domination
This was Durant’s team in Tokyo.
He scored 29 points in the gold medal game against France and took 18 shots.
Jayson Tatum was next with 14 shots.
This is a roster that included deadly shooters in Damian Lillard and Devin Booker as well.
Yet it was Durant and Jrue Holiday as the veteran duo to lean on throughout the tournament.
FIBA rules are different and the games can get more physical.
Team USA lacked some serious size and during several games, they went cold from deep and fell behind by double-digits.
Durant was there to save the day because once he gets even a few inches of space there is no way to stop his shot.
NBA fans know this and international fans got to see it happen in Tokyo.
The same was true when a young star like Booker, and a veteran like Lillard, couldn’t get going.
Team USA could get Durant into an iso and let him go to work.
A National Leader
Kevin Durant believes Team USA's skill is "unmatched" compared to the rest of the world. pic.twitter.com/qa1Bp9XkOm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 7, 2021
Durant has been on the Olympic squad since 2012.
LeBron James was last on the team in 2012, meaning it has been Durant’s team since 2016.
We should also point out Carmelo Anthony was on that 2016 team and set some national records in the process.
But Durant has been the star of the show as of late and it is unlikely Team USA wins gold if he decided to stay home this summer.
Who else could have filled that void?
Durant and James are still arguably the two best American-born NBA players who have experience on the Olympic stage.
Kyrie Irving and James Harden also come to mind, but injuries held them out anyway.
The Olympics would have gone much differently for Team USA without Durant and now fans may wonder if he runs in back in 2024.
The event only being three years away certainly helps his chances of competing again.
However, by then we should have the next crop of superstars emerging in the NBA.
Someone like Booker may be at a whole new level, with the same also potentially being true for Tatum.
But it may come down to the experience of Durant to take home another gold in Paris, further cementing his legacy as arguably the best Team USA player of all time.
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