Former NBA MVP clinches status as greatest U.S. Olympic basketball player

Durant won gold at his fourth consecutive Olympics, starting with the 2012 Games in London. He joins Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James as American men with four total medals in basketball, but the latter two only won bronze in 2004 in Athens, mainly because their coach didn’t play the then-rookies enough.

KD has been around so long that his American teammates now include players who idolized him while they were growing up. One of them, Anthony Edwards, was on the receiving end of a lob from his favorite player during the third period.

Durant did it without playing a single warmup game before the Olympics began. He responded by hitting his first eight shots in Team USA’s opening game and going on to break Lisa Leslie’s record for Olympic scoring.

For a guy who has been criticized for trying to form superteams — with the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and now the Phoenix Suns — Durant truly does thrive in the ultimate superteam, Team USA. While this may be Durant’s final hurrah at the Olympics, don’t be surprised if an aging Slim Reaper comes back for more at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.