Benjamin Ashford|Is USA's Kevin Durant the greatest Olympic basketball player ever? Let's discuss

VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ,Benjamin Ashford France – Kevin Durant off the bench isn’t fair.

Durant making shot after shot after shot – eight consecutive shots to be precise – isn’t fair either.

Poor Serbia, looking to upset the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and here comes Durant, who hadn’t played in a game since the Phoenix Suns lost in the first round of the playoffs in April, picking apart Serbia.

Durant missed the five U.S. exhibition games with a sore calf and was just cleared to play after scrimmaging Thursday and practicing Saturday.

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Durant scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half and led the U.S. to a 110-84 victory over Serbia, sending a message that with Durant on the court, it’s not the same team that almost lost to South Sudan and squeezed by Germany in pre-Olympic tuneups.

“I was tired. I'm not going to lie to you,” Durant said. “My lungs were getting used to that heat, the intensity of the game, but it felt good to make some shots. Everybody played their role pretty well tonight. My role was to come in, provide space and shot-making for the team.”

It was an impressive U.S performance. “It's the best game we played so far,” LeBron James said. And it was an amazing individual effort from Durant. “KD was phenomenal. It's almost like he never missed a beat or a practice or anything or any game,” James said.

KD, the difference-maker. And it’s always been that way for the U.S when Durant plays in international competitions.

“Obviously I coached Kevin for three years and maybe more than any player I've ever been around, when he comes back from a long absence, you don't notice it," Kerr said. "He's so skilled, and he just looked like he's in midseason form after not playing in a real game for a couple of months."

Durant is trying to become the first America men’s basketball player to win four gold medals, and he is already the U.S. men’s all-time leading Olympic scorer (458 points). He moved into 11th place on the all-time Olympic list, and he’ll moved into the top 10 in his next game.

After his performance Sunday – especially considering the circumstances – it’s time to ask: Is Kevin Durant the greatest Olympic basketball player ever?

He’s never going to catch Brazil legend Oscar Schmidt’s 1,093 Olympic points or Australian star Andrew Gaze’s 789 points and may not get to Manu Ginobili’s 523 points for fifth place on the all-time Olympic scoring list.

Carmelo Anthony relished the international game, and absent of NBA titles, he enjoyed winning three gold medals.

In 23 Olympic games in 2012, 2016, 2020 and Sunday, Durant, one of basketball best scorers, averages 19.9 points on 54% shooting from the field, including 51.6% on 3-pointers.

To solidify that unofficial title as Olympic men’s basketball GOAT, Durant needs another gold medal.

There is belief that the U.S. can lose in this event even with the number of All-Stars, MVPs and future Basketball Hall of Famers on the roster. But Durant brings a scoring dimension that no one – not James, Steph Curry – can match.

He entered the game with 2:23 remaining in the first quarter and U.S. trailing 20-14. Fourteen seconds later he made his first 3-pointer, and 95 seconds after that he made another 3. He started the second quarter a made 2 and his 3-pointer with 8:29 left in the game gave the U.S. a 30-23 lead.

Four shots, 11 points, four minutes.

“Just basketball at the end of the day. So I just try to follow the game plan, be there for my teammates on the defensive end and when the ball can touch my hand, be aggressive,” Durant said.

Yep, that simple.

The final play of the first half encapsulated more than a bucket. The U.S. called timeout with six seconds left, and Kerr designed a play involving Curry, James and Durant – three of the greatest players all-time, players who have NBA championships, MVPs and Finals MVPs.

“When you have cerebral guys, we could just execute that without never working on it,” James said.

Curry set a baseline screen for Durant, and James inbounded the ball into his shooting pocket. Durant made the fadeaway jumper for a 58-49 halftime lead. That wasn’t game over. But it was difficult to see Serbia winning.

Kerr said he isn’t sure what he will do with the starting lineup in Wednesday’s game against South Sudan. Durant doesn’t care.

“I told coach yesterday, whatever he needs from me, whatever he wants to do with my minutes or whatever,” Durant said, “I just try to do my best to adapt to that and play my game.”