Kevin Durant entered the U.S.-Serbia men’s basketball game in Lille, France, on Sunday afternoon with 2 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first quarter and his team in need of a boost. Serbia led 20-14 and the Americans, favorites for the gold medal, made some sloppy mistakes at both ends of the court.
The all-time leading scorer in U.S. Olympic men’s basketball history, who missed the team’s five pre-Olympic warm-up games due to a calf injury, was about to change the trajectory of that affair in front of a packed crowd. Tickets Sold Out. of 27 thousand people at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium, which usually hosts football matches. Which is appropriate, because with the international crowd dressed in a multicolored tapestry of different NBA and national team jerseys – paying homage to their favorite players – and fans chanting and waving their flags, the game looked like a World Cup soccer match. World, not a football match. common opening of the Olympic group stage for both teams.
So be it, Durant hasn’t played on a public competitive stage since late April, when his NBA season with the Phoenix Suns ended with a first-round playoff victory at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He made a three-pointer 15 seconds after entering the game. After Anthony Edwards hit one of his own, Durant hit another three before the end of the first quarter; the US now led 25-20. In the second quarter, he hit six more shots in a row, of varying degrees of difficulty. Is a Serbian defender harassing Durant as he approaches for a mid-range jumper? Bang. Does Nikola Jokic, the reigning NBA MVP, compete for Durant’s corner three? Durant got it anyway. When KD made another basket just before the end of the half, the USA had a 58-49 lead, and Durant’s statistic was outrageous. In just nine minutes of play, he scored 21 points on perfect 8-of-8 shooting.
“There’s nothing he does that’s surprising,” Olympic rookie Stephen Curry, Durant’s former Golden State Warriors teammate, said after the game.
The Americans kept pace in the second half, defeating Serbia 110-84 despite Jokic’s 20 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. (Serbia and the Americans were tied while Jokic was in the game; during his nine minutes on the bench, the U.S. outscored the Serbians by 26 points.) Durant finished with 23 points and LeBron James scored 21 for nine. assists and seven rebounds.
see more information: Before Caitlin Clark, there was Jimmer Fredette
Expectations are higher than usual for this U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, as fans and pundits consider it the potential true successor to the Dream Team, the 1992 U.S. team featuring legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. While the Dream Team’s victory in Barcelona certainly helped spark the global growth that was on display in Lille, this collection of players, more than any previous US Games entry since the Dream Team, presents the appropriate mix of gravitas and news. Star power will also be revered for generations. James, Durant and Curry are the Magic-Michael-Larry of this century.
Fans can scream forever about which trio is better. But both inspired legions of followers around the world.
On Sunday morning, Guillermo Castroconde, sales manager for Dr. Pepper in Omaha, waited for the train at Gare de Nord in Paris, among hundreds of fans traveling to the game. Castroconde, a 33-year-old James devotee, came from Nebraska because this is his Dream Team. “I couldn’t miss this one,” he said. “I wasn’t around when Jordan was playing. Thirty years from now, I don’t want to regret it.”
In a hotel near Lille’s main train station, one could be forgiven for thinking that French President Emmanuel Macron – or someone of his ilk – would be spending the night, given the number of people gathered in a typically quiet street behind security barriers. But an analysis of all the basketball apparel told a different story: This must be where Team USA is hiding. A young boy, wearing a James Laker jersey, sat high above the crowd on his father’s shoulders. Another boy was perched on his father’s shoulders a few rows back. He wore a Curry Golden State Warriors kit to balance things out.
Maria Delceva, a 23-year-old manager at Domino’s Pizza, traveled alone from Sofia, Bulgaria, to watch USA-Serbia. “My dream was to come to Paris and watch Steph Curry play,” she said. “So hey, I won.” She was in the front row of a crowd of basketball fans, hundreds if not thousands, waiting to enter the stadium about two hours before the game. She didn’t want to share exactly how much money she spent to get there. “It was a lot,” she says.
The Americans fed off all the energy. “Phenomenal,” James said after the game. “Sitting there, listening to our national anthem, hearing the crowd cheering, I definitely got a little nervous. My stomach, the butterflies appeared. It was something different.”
“I looked around and saw so many different NBA jerseys in the stands. I love it when the game of basketball can bring people from all over the world, from different walks of life, together like this,” Durant said.
See more information: The cost of participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Patrons got the show they expected, a little mix of everything: Durant’s explosiveness, James’ all-around excellence and ability to outrun defenses to score, Curry hitting three three-pointers – including his patented look-away routine at the end of the game. Edwards, the NBA’s current most fascinating trapeze artist, caught an alley-oop from James. Pesky Derrick White, a relative player, did his job, getting a few steals.
The USA, which plays Southern Sudan at the pool game on Wednesday, it’s so loaded that Jayson Tatum, an All-NBA first-team selection coming off a title with the Boston Celtics, didn’t even get into the game. Joel Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, received merciless boos from French fans every time he touched the ball. (Embiid chose to play for the U.S., instead of France, at these Olympics.) He didn’t have much of an impact in limited minutes, but that didn’t really matter.
After the game, U.S. coach Steve Kerr didn’t say much about keeping Durant as a permanent sixth man during the Olympic tournament. Given how well he played off the bench tonight, Kerr should probably stick with what’s working until further notice. Durant doesn’t care about that idea. “I told the coach, whatever you need from me, I’m willing to do anything and adapt to anything. It’s always been fun trying to discover new roles. Just adapt to what the game tells me.”
KD managed just one shot from the field in the second half – he missed a corner kick from mid-range, ending his perfect night. “Oh man,” Durant said afterward. “It was great to let my hands go.”
That’s a lady America can live with.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
