After missing the entire exhibition slate due to a strained right calf, Kevin Durant has been cleared for Team USA’s Olympics opener today against Serbia, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Durant will be used off the bench, Charania adds (Twitter link).
Durant had been trending toward playing after being sidelined for several weeks with the injury. Head coach Steve Kerr said earlier this week that Durant’s status would be a mutual decision with input from the training staff, Durant’s representatives, Suns officials and Durant himself.
Durant was considered “day-to-day” for exhibition games Monday and Wednesday in London. He didn’t take the floor in either contest, with Kerr saying he preferred to see how Durant’s calf responded to back-to-back practices and a scrimmage.
Durant is hoping to become the first player to ever win four Olympic basketball gold medals. He led the team in scoring in the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Games and is the top scorer in U.S. Olympic men’s basketball history. He also captured gold in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
After today’s opener, Team USA will face South Sudan on Wednesday and Puerto Rico on Saturday.
And the US has needed every bit of KD in the 1st half
I take back everything negative I said about KD being on the Olympic team he was gold in the first half.
Love this for KD! He and Carmelo the greatest Team USA players of all time!! Magical moment for him and the unbearable announcers sobbing over a Lebron pass and zero mention of his 5 turnovers. I appreciate Lebrons greatness but this is the exact reason people hate him. Even in KDs moment everything is about Lebron
There will be a day when Embiid doesn’t play dirty.
the Serbian player flop like he was hit in the face.
Especially when embiid pulled him. Or he did just flop that as well bu placing magnets to Embiid so he makes unnatural movement. Go defent Embiid somewhere else.
They guy was on the ground pretending to be hit in the face but they don’t have flopping rules in international play.
You are a blind joke. Embiid pulled him down, thats why he is on the floor.
Why was he covering his face and acting like he was hit in the face. He was pulled down but nothing to the face.
He played great, his performance uplifted the others.
Tatum and Haliburton didn’t play, I expect they will rotate out two guys every game for rest until the final knockouts.
They already caused tantrum for not playing.
team USA need Embiid to play much better against Sudan who has a lot of tall players. He has looked a little slow on defense not helping out players who get screened.