Durant previously made headlines for his preseason performance against the Portland Trail Blazers, in which he recorded 19 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Now, Durant is back in the spotlight after word of his desire to represent Team USA at the Olympics spread online.
Team USA is widely regarded as one of the finest basketball team in the world, having achieved a staggering 16 gold medals in their 19 appearances in the Olympic Games. They even reached a historic feat at the previous edition of the games, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when they won the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament four times in a row.
And Durant, was a key player in their success last time, leading the team to defeat Team France in the final with a score of 87-82.
There was a lot of hype for the renowned team leading up to the Olympics, but all this changed after their defeat to Germany and the dreadful fourth-place showing at the FIBA World Cup last September.
The expectations eventually began to die down, and the team’s morale became lower.
However, the trajectory changed when LeBron voiced out his wish to join the team in the Olympics, along with several other best players in the league, such as Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green.
In light of recent news, Kevin Durant has come out in the open and has officially joined in the list of players who wants in on the action. On monday, Durant told Yahoo sports that he is 100% committed to playing for the Team USA.
“I’m 100% committed,” Durant said. “It’s on whoever is making the calls. They put the team together, they make the calls, but yeah, I’m committed to playing this summer. If they would have me on the team.”, per Yahoo Sports.
Kevin Durant to @YahooSports: “100 percent committed” to playing for Team USA next summer… “if they’ll have me”, he adds https://t.co/vtrNJwxkMy
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) October 17, 2023
He also made light of the fact that he doubts they will reject his offer, saying “I doubt they will [turn me down], I’ve been in the system for too long,” Durant jokingly said.
“I feel like I’m grandfathered in, being around as long as I have,” he added.
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