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Olympic Notes: Durant, Batum, Wembanyama, Awards

August 10th 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

After becoming the first men’s basketball player with four Olympic gold medals, could Kevin Durant stick around long enough to try for a fifth? He hinted at that possibility at Saturday’s post-game press conference when asked about the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, writes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.

“Records are meant to be broken,” Durant said. “My goal was always to represent my country, my state, my street, my family name. And help to push the game forward. Since I’ve been there, I’ve done that. We’ve built on the 1992 Dream Team, and I’m glad we managed to carry it over. Regarding L.A., who knows, man? We’ll see.”

Durant is still playing at an All-Star level at age 35, and he’s under contract with the Suns for two more seasons. If he decides to extend his career beyond that, he’ll be the same age that LeBron James is now when the 2028 Olympics roll around.

Durant is one of the most accomplished players in Olympics history and is among eight men who have reached 500 career points. He passed Carmelo Anthony as the men’s all-time leading scorer for Team USA, and he recently eclipsed Lisa Leslie as well.

“For me, it’s about pushing the game forward on the biggest stage, helping USA Basketball,” Durant added. “I didn’t even think about who is the best player. You just try to contribute as much as you can to the big picture.”

There’s more from Paris:

  • Nicolas Batum‘s long career with the French national team ended with today’s loss in the gold medal game, according to BasketNews. Appearing on French television, Batum announced his retirement from international competition. “It was my last one with this jersey,” he said. “I spent 15 years playing four World Cups, four EuroBaskets and four Olympics. I did what I had to do: seven medals. I’m happy.”
  • Victor Wembanyama savored the chance to compete for a medal on his home soil, Urbonas tweets. The 20-year-old phenom was a crowd favorite throughout the tournament and was at his best in Saturday’s game, finishing with 26 points and seven rebounds. “It’s an incredible experience,” he said. “The anthem is one of my favorite parts. I know I’m only 20, but I don’t know when that will happen again. And it makes me want to cry again. It was just such a chance.”
  • Wembanyama was named to the All-Star Five, which recognizes the best players in the Olympics, along with Team USA’s James and Stephen Curry, Germany’s Dennis Schröder and Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, FIBA announced (via Twitter). Making up the second team are Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, Germany’s Franz Wagner, France’s Guerschon Yabusele and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. James was selected as Olympics MVP, Wembanyama is the Rising Star, France’s Vincent Collet is the Best Coach and Serbia’s Aleksa Avramovic is the Best Defensive Player.
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