The U.S. men’s basketball team got off to a strong start at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, dominating Nikola Jokic and Serbia — the team considered the favorites to win the gold medal — with a 110-84 victory that made it clear they wouldn’t be easy to beat.
The biggest reason for this was Kevin Durant, who missed the team’s warm-up game before the start of the Olympics due to a calf injury. Arguably the greatest player in the history of U.S. basketball, Durant was ordered to leave the game just before the game and came off the bench to take on Serbia. He didn’t miss a single shot in the first half, and by the end of the game he had 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and didn’t miss a single one of his five three-point shots in 17 minutes of play.
A day later, Durant appeared to take some time off while preparing for Wednesday’s game against South Sudan. Whenever the U.S. plays in a FIBA tournament, there are always those who wish the NBA would embrace more of the rules that make FIBA basketball different. KD isn’t one of them.
I swear, you guys are just talking. What rules do you want to see?
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
If you want to eliminate 3s on defense, the game will slow down.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
The beauty of basketball is not to call every set, but to play by instinct and let your talent dictate the game. Go in transition, drive and kick, play the basketball randomly. If you want to do tricks, play every possession like football. That’s not what our game is about…
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
Durant refuted the accusation that there is more flopping in the NBA than in FIBA, pointing out that this is simply not true.
I’ve played FIBA for 15 years and have seen some of the most egregious mistakes I’ve ever seen. Seduce refs into making calls isn’t just an NBA thing, it’s a worldwide thing. If you don’t like the way the Americans play ball, say so.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
He also spoke about the importance of randomness in basketball and how it’s important to balance that with the more rigorous style of play seen in FIBA.
Random basketball!! You don’t understand what I’m saying. You can randomly set a screen, randomly backcut, randomly pass to the open guy. Focus on what I’m saying.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 29, 2024
Whether it’s NBA rules or FIBA rules, I think two things are clear: 1. Kevin Durant has a good perspective on all of this as someone who has played in the NBA and for national teams for many years, and 2. He’ll be very good at basketball no matter what the situation.