OKC Thunder: Durant’s third Olympic gold medal inarguably his most impressive

It proved to be a busy Friday for former OKC Thunder superstar Kevin Durant. Not only did he lead Team USA to their fourth consecutive gold medal but he also signed a four-year $198 million extension with the Nets.

The latter was expected but winning the gold wasn’t assured given the myriad of struggles this version of the national squad faced.  Their opponent (Team France) had opened the Olympic tournament with a win versus the U.S. and was riding a two-game win streak over the Americans.

In retrospect, the win will likely be considered yet another example of the U.S. supremacy of basketball, but in truth capturing this victory was never a certainty.

Former OKC Thunder star Kevin Durant leads Team USA to the gold medal

The 87-82 win versus France is the closest margin of victory by the U.S. in those four consecutive wins. And, for the players and coaching staff, it may be the sweetest of their recent Olympic victories.

Between the pandemic, injuries and late player arrivals this squad had to navigate far greater adversity than the trio of rosters that won gold medals before them.

For Durant, this is his third Olympic gold but the burden he carried to ensure the U.S. continued the winning streak was heavier than the two prior victories.  While this roster struggled to find an offensive rhythm it was KD who stepped up and offered consistency. Friday was no different as he led America with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a block.

From the tip, KD was on a mission to build a lead and take on the task of guarding Rudy Gobert giving up size and trying to avoid the same foul trouble that plagued him in the opening game loss to the French squad.

Durant did most of his damage (21 of 29 points) in the first half and looked fatigued from the weight of guarding Gobert in the second half. There was another late fourth-quarter charge by the French team but this time the U.S. held them at bay.

While the early scoring will be the focus of Durant’s gold medal performance arguably the work he did to slow Gobert was more important. That and the two free throws he calmly made with eight seconds remaining and the French having narrowed the margin to three points.

Afterward, his coaches, teammates, and Colangelo all were effusive in their praise of Durant. Considering how difficult the path was to claim the gold hardware this has to be the most satisfactory of the trio of gold medals KD owns. Without him, it’s hard to imagine the U.S. would have overcome their issues and we might be discussing a far different outcome today.

Instead, Durant who returned to lead this squad will walk away from international competition holding the scoring title and having cemented his reputation as one of the best leaders in the sport.

Jayson Tatum stepped up in that final frame taking on more of the scoring and defensive needs and perhaps unknowingly accepted the baton pass from Durant who was likely playing in his last Olympic game.

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In fact, much of the U.S. program will experience shifts as Jerry Colangelo will retire as USA Basketball executive director – a position he has held for 16 years. It was Colangelo who orchestrated a return of American dominance to international play following the 2002 seventh-place World Championship placement and 2004 bronze medal in Athens Greece. Though nothing is official it’s expected former player, Grant Hill will take over for Colangelo.

As for coach Gregg Popovich, a loss wouldn’t have sullied his masterful career but might have sparked debate over the need for a younger voice at the helm. At 72, it’s likely he won’t return for the 2024 Olympics and that a new coach will be tasked with extending the American gold medal run to five in a row.

The bronze medal went to the Australian’s who defeated the upstart Luka Doncic led Slovenian Team. This coming fall, Patty Mills who will line up with Durant in Brooklyn led the Aussies with a 42 point scoring outburst.