Julia StumbaughAugust 10, 2024
ARIS MESSINIS/AFP by the usage of Getty Pictures
Kevin Durant is the principle player in males’s basketball historical past to secure four Olympic gold medals.
Durant handed three-time Olympic champion Carmelo Anthony for the milestone on Saturday following Team USA’s 98-87 secure over France at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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HISTORY FOR KD 🥇💰 pic.twitter.com/dO8mvXltnt
Team USA’s Kevin Durant turns into the principle player to secure four Gold Medals in males’s Olympic basketball historical past. Durant has moreover scored the most factors in USA Olympic historical past. The 2-time NBA Finals MVP cements himself as the most embellished USA Basketball player ever. pic.twitter.com/SjvYRtbEPr
Durant moreover gained gold at the 2012 London Video games, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Video games in 2021.
He turned Team USA’s all-time main Olympics scorer on Tuesday throughout a quarterfinal secure over Brazil.
Within the gold medal sport four days later, Durant contributed 15 factors on 5-of-12 shooting to support seize Team USA to victory.
Durant’s teammate, LeBron James, within the meantime matched Anthony for the 2nd-most gold medals in USA males’s basketball historical past by incomes his third in Paris. James moreover claimed gold in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London.
James moreover holds a fourth Olympic medal from when Team USA earned bronze at the 2004 Athens Video games.
Being with Team USA on their quest to secure gold in Paris was now not continuously assured for Durant, who passed over all 5 of the squad’s Olympic exhibition games with a left calf damage.
Nonetheless Durant returned for the American’s Olympic opener against Serbia, and ended up taking part in a key bench role throughout the team’s accelerate to the gold medal sport.
Largely taking part in as Team USA’s sixth man, Durant averaged 13.6 factors, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists thru four team stage and two knockout games.
He carried out a truly great role in Team USA heading into the knockout round as the tip seed, racking up 23 factors on 8-of-9 shooting throughout a team play secure over Serbia.
For the interval of the knockout round, Durant handed Team USA star Lisa Leslie’s 488 occupation factors for the nation’s all-time Olympic scoring lead.
Within the gold medal sport Durant sank two major free throws within the excellent three minutes of the game to support Team USA shut out their uncover for the gold.
Durant will attain the 2024 Paris Video games as the principle American males’s basketball player to high 500 Olympic factors and the eighth player in Olympic males’s basketball historical past to achieve the milestone.
