Kevin Durant Could Play For Team USA vs. Serbia

Kevin Durant could play for Team USA against Serbia on Sunday. 

Durant hasn’t played for Team USA yet due to a right calf strain.

“It’s not just our training staff, but [USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill] is constantly in touch with Kevin’s people and with the Suns,” Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said about Kevin Durant. “This is not going to be like us going out and saying, ‘Hey, let’s just throw him out there.’ This will be a big collaboration.”

Rich Kleiman, Durant’s agent, told ESPN that Durant has been working tirelessly to return to play. Kleiman stated that Durant, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer, could’ve played during Team USA’s games in London.

“The plan is for him to get in the scrimmage and see how he handles that,” Kerr said. “He looked good today and he did everything and got a lot of shots up and told me he’s feeling pretty good.”

Team USA went 5-0 in the exhibition games against Canada, Australia, Serbia, South Sudan and Germany. However, they didn’t play particularly well versus South Sudan and Germany. 

“I hated our pace against Germany. We were just walking the ball up the floor. The tape was tough to watch,” Kerr said. “So we know we’ve got to play a lot better at both ends and I’m confident that we will. But we have to make some adjustments, both strategic and emotional.”

Durant is one of the best scorers in basketball history. Team USA needs him to play to win another gold medal. 

Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks in 2023-24 for the Phoenix Suns. The two-time NBA champion will make $49.9 million next season.

Team USA has a lot of talent. The roster features Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Derrick White, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday and Joel Embiid.