The U.S. men’s basketball team is loaded like a potato skin at TGI Friday’s, but they could be without one of their biggest stars in Paris. Phoenix Suns’ forward and former NBA MVP Kevin Durant has been dealing with a calf injury. He missed the entirety of Team USA’s five-game exhibition schedule.
Of course, Durant’s presence won’t make-or-break the United States’ chances of winning a gold medal. After all, the team went 5-0 in their pre-Olympics showcase. While a few of the games were closer than anticipated, the United States has the star power to dominate any other country on the planet, with or without Durant.
That said, Durant’s presence would certainly be welcome. Even at 35 years old, Durant remains one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA. He can get a bucket from anywhere on the court, which is a skill set any team could use. However, Durant’s nagging injury could be serious enough to keep him off the court.
Here are the latest updates on Durant’s injury and his availability for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Kevin Durant injury, latest updates:
Team USA still plans on having Durant for Olympics
In a tweet from The Athletic’s Joe Vardon yesterday, Vardon explained that while Durant would not be suiting up against Germany in Team USA’s final exhibition game, he is still expected to be available for the Olympics.
Vardon also noted that Durant was only expected to miss a week initially, which likely means that the team is just playing it very, very safe with Durant, not wanting to re-agitate his injury before the games start mattering.
Head coach Steve Kerr backed this idea up after the exhibition against Germany, claiming that there was ‘no thought’ to replace Durant on the USA roster.
Kerr would likely be looking for replacements if he was not expected to play in the Olympics, but Kerr’s insistence that Durant will not be replaced is a good omen for his availability.
Durant could miss Team USA’s first game
Despite Durant’s likely availability for the Olympics as a whole, it is still a possibility that he remains sidelined for the team’s first game against Serbia.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said as much on Sportscenter yesterday.
Windhorst does note that Serbia is an ‘excellent team.’ Durant would certainly give the United States an extra advantage. However, this is the same Serbia team that the U.S. beat 105-79 during their showcase less than a week ago. That was the U.S.’s biggest win of their showcase, so hopefully Durant wouldn’t be a necessity for Team USA.
How long has Durant been dealing with this injury?
According to reports, Durant has been dealing with this calf injury since before Team USA training camp started. The star forward has had a somewhat lengthy injury history over his 17-year NBA career, but none have seemed to have an impact on his game.
Kerr still wants to see Durant put together multiple practices in a row without any setbacks before committing to his return to the court. As noted though, Kerr is very optimistic about Durant’s availability moving forward. On Monday, Kerr told reporters, ‘I talked to him today. He said he was feeling better.’
Team USA’s game against Serbia is scheduled for July 28. Their next game after that is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31 against the same South Sudan team that nearly beat the United States during their showcase.