Kevin Durant‘s timeline to play for Team USA keeps getting pushed back as he recovers from a right calf strain. But he will absolutely be on the Olympic roster when it is set later this week.
USA Basketball coach Steve Kerr met with Durant on Monday and a decision was made to hold him out of the final exhibition game against Germany. The Americans won 92-88 to finish their pre-Olympic slate 5-0.
Durant, who suffered the injury while training in mid-June and had an MRI when he joined Team USA in early July, is being considered day-to-day.
Kerr had hoped Durant would play in one of the games in London but said that the new plan is for him to practice with the team several times when it gets to France later this week. Kerr said he also wants Durant to have some contact and go through a scrimmage before bringing him back, which makes his availability for Sunday’s pool play opener against Serbia in some doubt.
USA Basketball has until Saturday to finalize the roster, and Durant will be on it.
Kevin Durant hasn’t participated in any of Team USA’s exhibition games ahead of the Paris Olympics and one NBA insider thinks his stint on the sidelines will continue into the tournament.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst provided an update on Durant’s condition and expressed his doubts about KD participating in Team USA’s first pool match against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
“I think [Team USA is] gonna be playing Serbia without Kevin Durant… Steve Kerr met with him today and they decided he needs more time with that strained calf. … They believe he will be able to play. But the hopes are dim that he’s gonna be able to do it against Serbia,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter.
Windhorst added, “One thing Steve Kerr made very clear, he will not be replaced on the roster. … They could fly in a replacement [for KD], that’s not gonna happen. Kevin Durant is going to be on this team.”
“There’s no thought of replacing Kevin,” Kerr said. “I was hoping he would get a game in here, but it just didn’t work out that way.”
Durant practiced last week and ramped up his activity level over the weekend, but he still was not ready on Monday.
Durant flatly said “no” when asked last week whether his previous history with calf injuries — he had a strain in his left calf just before suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the same leg during the 2019 NBA Finals — affected how he was approaching his return from this injury.
Kerr was Durant’s coach with the Golden State Warriors at that time. Kerr said he knows from that experience that Durant routinely comes back strongly when returning from injuries.
“When he missed time, he came right back — and he is who he is,” Kerr said. “He’s one of the most skilled players of all time. So, we hope he comes back soon, and I think he’ll fit right in.”
Kerr did in fact tell reporters there is “no thought” about not bringing Durant to Paris, but the team wants him to go through multiple practices before returning, SI‘s Grant Afseth reports.
A reporter also asked Durant’s NBA rival Jrue Holiday if there’s concern about integrating KD mid-tournament.
To which Holiday replied, “No… That’s Kevin Durant, my boy.”
Team USA will feature the most stacked lineup seen at an Olympic level in a long time, so filling the KD void certainly won’t be an issue for the team.
If USA are to win gold in Paris, Durant will become the all-time leader in Men’s Olympic basketball gold medals after previously winning in 2012, 2016 and 2021.