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Kevin Durant's Role for Team USA in Paris Olympics Revealed by Steve Kerr; DETAILS Inside
Kevin Durant can be considered the greatest USA basketball player in the history of the Olympics, and Steve Kerr has revealed his plan for him.
Kevin Durant has been a mentor, a history maker, and a trash talker during the 2024 Olympics. However, he hasn't played the starting position for Team USA in Paris. Following treatment for a left calf strain in the run-up to the Olympics, the future Hall of Famer has started the first three games for the United States off the bench.
Despite this, he has been successful. On July 28, for example, he scored 23 points in just 17 minutes during a rout of Serbia. The prolific scorer has accepted his reserve role in public and maintained the spirit of selflessness that has characterized this Team USA campaign. And fortunately, he does since it looks like his role won't alter for the duration of the Paris Games.
Steve Kerr said, “We've found a good groove,” via the SportsCenter Instagram account. “If Kevin had been here from day one, chances are he would be starting. That was the plan coming in, but given that he missed all our friendlies and came in late, we kind of established a lineup that we liked.”
The Golden State Warriors head coach, who has won four NBA championships, does not see the need to push Durant into the starting five because he enjoys the offensive punch the player provides in the second unit. Labels mean nothing, though, because Kerr intends to rely more on the 35-year-old when the competition gets tougher in the quarterfinals and beyond.
Kerr added, “He played so well {against Serbia}, and he fit so well with that group, so there's no plans on changing that. But of course, as the games get more difficult, my guess is Kevin will be playing more and more minutes.”
Although the skill of this Team USA lineup has never been doubted, many were curious about how playing time would be split up. This roster has a lot of mouths to feed, and they're all accustomed to that in the NBA. At times, Kerr found it difficult to accommodate everyone, as seen by his benching of Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum during the group stage.
But they handled the transition gracefully, much like Kevin Durant is doing in what is likely to be his final run with Team USA. Fans can be sure that Steve Kerr will field a very talented, skilled, and experienced lineup for Tuesday's matchup against Brazil. They also understand that Durant remains one of the team's most crucial players.
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