Team USA basketball is just days away from its first official game of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and while it is generally favored to win the gold medal, there is some concern that it could fall short of that goal.
It won each of its exhibition games, but it looked vulnerable at times, and it needed to huff and puff to earn its last two victories versus South Sudan and Germany.
One thing that should be kept in mind is Kevin Durant, one of Team USA’s best players, has been out with a calf strain, but according to Brian Windhorst, he will scrimmage on Thursday and then be re-evaluated.
New Kevin Durant Update 🚨
“The plan is for him to scrimmage tomorrow in Paris and reevaluate him after the scrimmage”
KD was not happy with Windhorst report about not being available to play vs Serbia, he’s working very very hard to get back… playing for the national team is… pic.twitter.com/t0CyggPb0f
— 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✰ (@Hatedzs) July 24, 2024
If Durant is able to start playing again, it would be a big boost for the United States.
This past season with the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 27.1 points and 5.0 assists a game while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point range.
Even at age 35, he remains one of the best in basketball at getting buckets when his team needs a bucket.
But while Durant continues to play at an elite level, his NBA team fell well short of expectations this past season, and it doesn’t look like that squad will do better this coming season.
Phoenix was picked by many to reach the NBA Finals going into the 2023-24 campaign, but instead, they won just 49 games and finished sixth in the Western Conference, and they were ultimately swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While they have a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, their roster right now is no stronger than it was in April.
But Durant still has a good chance of reporting to training camp with his fourth Olympic gold medal, which would set a new record for USA men’s basketball.
NEXT:
Former Spurs Executive Is Joining Suns As Assistant Coach