Kevin Durant has played a huge part in Team USA’s current run to an Olympic gold medal. However, while chasing one incredible accomplishment, Durant has earned another. Against Brazil, Durant became Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in the Olympics with 494 points. The former record was held by Lisa Leslie, who finished her Team USA career with 488 points. Durant has been on fire during the Olympics this year, but it takes more than one good year to become the all-time leading scorer. This is Durant’s documented journey starting in 2012.
Records are meant to be broken, I’ll hold on to this until another great comes along and passes me up…Lisa Leslie you are the gold standard in basketball, I appreciate your love and support throughout the years..much love to you always…it’s all about the gold baby. Let’s get… pic.twitter.com/huJxy8Qywa
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 7, 2024
Durant’s Dynasty: Climbing the USA Scoring Ladder
Durant’s Scoring: The 2012 Olympics
In 2012, the Olympics and Team USA were a lot different. Durant and LeBron James were teammates, despite coming off a battle in the 2012 NBA Finals. Mike Krzyzewski was the head coach of Team USA, James Harden and Anthony Davis were reserves, and Tyson Chandler (a big who couldn’t shoot threes at all) was USA’s starting center. Both the 2012 and 2024 USA basketball teams were incredible, but in 2012, the rest of the world hadn’t begun catching up. While 2024’s exhibition games were close games, 2012’s games had blowouts such as 113-59 against the Dominican Republic, 118-78 against Great Britain, and 100-78 against Spain.
When USA began Olympic competition in 2012, they went undefeated, with the average margin of victory being 32.1 points (fifth highest in Olympic history). Durant’s scoring was a key part of this, as he averaged 19.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. He shot a blistering 52.3% from three, connecting on 34 attempts and leaving him with 156 points in his first Olympics. In the gold medal victory against Spain, Durant had 30 points which were crucial to help secure the victory. With that, Durant’s Olympic resume begun to grow.
Durant the Veteran: The 2016 Olympics
Returning for his second Olympics, Durant found only himself and one teammate remaining from the 2012 Olympics roster: Carmelo Anthony. Together, the two of them begun playing with new star studded teammates. James and Stephen Curry weren’t playing, but Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan, and Paul George were key figures on the roster. Once again, the U.S. coasted through their exhibition games, going 5-0 and (most notably) blowing out China by 50 points. Every game was won by double-digits, as the US showed they hadn’t lost a step.
The preliminary games in the Olympics featured some close games, including a three-point win against France and a three-point win against Serbia. However, in the knockout stage, the U.S. defeated Argentina by 27, Spain by six, and Serbia by 30 in the gold medal game. Durant once again had 30 points in the gold medal game, shooting 10-19 from the field. In the Olympics as a whole, Durant averaged near identical numbers: 19.4 points and 5.0 rebounds. However, as incredible as his three-point shooting was in 2012, it got even better. His three-point accuracy jumped up all the way to 58.1%, and his field goal percentage went up to 57.8%.
The Lone Warrior: The 2020 Olympics
The 2020 Olympics…were actually the 2021 Olympics, as they got delayed by a year due to COVID. The 2020 U.S. team saw only two return from the 2016 Olympics team: Durant, and Draymond Green. By this point, Durant’s scoring was the only constant in Team USA’s ever changing lineup. The 2020 team featured many new players, the most notable being Damian Lillard. The two led the charge, with supporting cast members including Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, and Khris Middleton. Around the world, more and more international talent came to the NBA, and it began to show in the Olympics. The games were seemingly closer than ever before, as the U.S. lost their first two exhibition games. They won the other two (with one game being canceled due to players testing positive for COVID), but still, the losses had people worried.
In the preliminary round, the U.S. went 2-1, defeating Iran and the Czech Republic, but losing by seven to France. Once they got to elimination play, however, Team USA seriously locked in. They defeated Spain by 14 points, Australia by 19, and won the gold medal game against France by five. Durant had 29 points in the finals, once again being the key reason why the U.S. had won yet another gold. Coming into the 2020 Olympics, Durant had 331 points in his Olympic career, trailing Anthony’s men’s record of 336 points. Averaging 20.7 points, Durant easily hit this mark, meaning all he had to do to become Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in the Olympics was pass WNBA legend Lisa Leslie. That would come in this year’s Olympic games.
LeVengers: The 2024 Olympics
The focus in this year’s Olympics has revolved around James, who recruited many of the NBA’s biggest stars to play in the Olympics. Curry is on the team once again, Anthony Edwards is starring, Joel Embiid chose to play for the U.S. over France, and there’s been plenty of controversy over Kawhi Leonard and Jaylen Brown. However, quietly in the background (but not so quietly once the games start) is Durant again showing his scoring prowess.
Because Team USA as a whole is far more balanced and loaded with star power, everyone’s numbers are lower than previous years. Durant, also returning from injury, was being eased into the rotation by the coaching staff. Against Serbia, Durant showed the world that even at 35, he’s not slowing down. In 17 minutes off the bench, Durant went for 23 points on only nine shot attempts.
Even while not being as utilized as he was in last years, Durant’s scoring is a source of light for Team USA. With their second match against Serbia coming in the semifinals, despite only having nine points, Durant hit some clutch shots down the stretch. He’s a large part of the reason why the U.S. came back from down 15 points. Now, having passes Leslie for the U.S. scoring record (regardless of men’s or women’s), Durant and his scoring will be legendary for all-time. Or, at least until the next generational talent comes along.
