Kevin Durant will play in Paris in 2024 if USA Basketball wants him for a fourth Olympics. Over the following eight months, which NBA superstars will join him? Durant made his intentions clear on Monday, many NBA clubs’ preseason media day. Players were questioned about Team USA interest around the league.
Durant committed to playing in the Olympics next year, but others hesitated.Durant shattered Carmelo Anthony’s lifetime Olympic points record in Tokyo and led the U.S. in points per game in the past three Olympics. Durant has 436 points. In nine more games, Anthony scored 336.Durant may beat Larry Bird’s 1992 Barcelona Games record of 35 as the oldest U.S. Olympic male basketball player in Paris. Durant turns 35 next summer.LeBron James is 38 and a three-time Olympian. His 2016 and 2021 Olympic absences were due to resting after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA championship and a lack of public explanation.
James reiterated his interest in interviews on Monday. Beyond that?He said that the Lakers provide significant opportunities this season. “We’ll see.”Last month, James reportedly phoned other NBA players to recruit them for the 2024 Paris Games.“We’ve been in communication,” James told ESPN.Stephen Curry, the biggest Olympic star, may be one of them. Curry restated his goal without committing like Durant.
“If all things remain the same, I want to play,” he said after discussing the prospect with others. “It’s the one thing I haven’t done and I understand the opportunity for Team USA to reassert their dominance in the world and all that, so definitely want to be there and on the team. Hope that works out.”Curry’s Golden State Warriors coach is Steve Kerr, also the national team coach.
A non-All-NBA or Olympian American team finished fourth in the FIBA World Cup last month, losing three games for the first time since the 2004 Athens Games.In 2019, a lackluster U.S. squad finished eighth in the World Cup. At the Tokyo Olympics, a highly decorated team won a fourth straight Olympic championship (the most competitive). Center has been the worst U.S. position by All-NBA selections recently.
The only American to make an All-NBA first, second, or third team at center in the previous six seasons is Anthony Davis, who like Lakers teammate James hasn’t competed in the Olympics since 2012. On Monday, Davis was questioned about Paris 2024. “No idea yet,” he responded. Sacramento Kings player De’Aaron Fox, one of four American guards named All-NBA last season, was less impressed. Future events may alter. “I’m not concerned about it right now,” he replied.