Kevin Durant comes off bench in U.S. Olympic opener vs. Serbia

Kevin Durant made his first shot attempt, a three-pointer on his first game with Team USA for Sunday’s Olympic opener against Serbia.

28 July 2024, 02:31 07:31

Jul 28, 2024, 10:31 AM ET

Kevin Durant made his return to Team USA for Sunday’s Olympic opener against Serbia at the Paris Games and showcased what the Americans had missed with him out.

Durant started the game in the first quarter, and made his first shot with a 3-pointer. Then, he continued to shoot a flawless shooting half shooting 8-for-8 from on the court (5-for-5 in 3) to the top of the scoring with 21 points at break.

USA Basketball announced that Durant will be able to play for about an hour prior to the game. Durant did not make the starting lineup until the coach Steve Kerr indicated Saturday that Durant could be on the bench. Phoenix Suns star could be on the bench when he returns.

Joel Embiid began his debut with his team in the U.S. after he missed training on Saturday due to illness.

Durant was absent from all five competitions prior to the Olympics due to an injury to his calf. The injury was first reported a couple of days prior to the time when the team met at Las Vegas for training camp in July. He returned to full-time training the week before.

He’s hoping for the record of being a four-time Olympic basketball gold medalist for men’s basketball. All-time U.S. men’s leader in Olympic scoring was part of the teams that took home gold during the London Games in 2012, the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 and the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Associated Press contributed to this report.