After Team USA Men’s Basketball’s emphatic 110-84 win over Sudan at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Kevin Durant has once more reminded fans and analysts alike why he’s one of the most imposing offensive players in NBA history. The 35-year-old Phoenix Suns forward put up an impressive stat line of 14 points, two rebounds, three assists and three assists while shooting 2/5 from the field and 2/2 from three point range in only 22 minutes of playing time.
According to FIBA that stat line puts Durant, who has already won three gold medals and is on his quest for a fourth, at 472 points total in Olympic play; with 28 more points, Durant will join elite company, becoming the eight player in Olympic basketball history to score 500 points (the other players to do so are Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, Luis Scola, Wlamir Marques, Andrew Gaze, Patty Mills and Oscar Schmidt). Durant has the most points in Olympic history for Team USA Men’s Basketball, including a record 156 total points during the 2012 London Olympics.
Durant was also in fine form for Team USA Men’s Basketball’s first game against Nikola Jokic and Team Serbia. He finished that game with 23 points and two rebounds while shooting 8/9 from the field and 5/5 from three point range in 17 minutes of playing time.
Durant being lights out in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics only reiterates a viewpoint held by former NBA player Chandler Parsons, who believes that Durant is the most frightening offensive player in the NBA, even moreso than NBA all-time scoring leader LeBron James.
“When I was playing, I feared guarding Kevin Durant more than I feared guarding LeBron James just because of his ability to score in iso, the way he can break you off,” Parsons explained on an episode of the Run it Back podcast. “The way you can play great defense, he can shoot over you. LeBron is more passive. He gets off by making the extra pass. He’s less aggressive.”
In his sixteen season career, Kevin Durant has averages of 27.3 PPG, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on 50.1% FG percentage and a 38.7% three point percentage. As of this writing, he’s currently 8th on the all-time NBA scoring list, trailing only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.
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