Ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Team USA has five exhibition games to prepare themselves. The US has already played three of those tune-up games and has not lost yet. On Saturday afternoon EST, the Americans will be at the O2 Arena in London to face South Sudan.
In mid-June, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer Kevin Durant suffered a calf injury in workouts. Since then, Durant was not able to return to practice and the Americans wanted to play it safe. However, league insider Shams Charania announced that Durant is returning to practice on Friday for Team USA. He’ll work to get back on the court Saturday vs. South Sudan or Monday vs. Germany.
I’s only a matter of time until Kevin Durant makes his return to Team USA
Sources: Kevin Durant is expected to return to Team USA practice today in London – his first with this Olympic team – and could make his debut in one of exhibition games vs. South Sudan on Saturday or vs. Germany on Monday. He is returning from a strained calf. https://t.co/fVdI84UxCa
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 19, 2024
Luckily for head coach Steve Kerr, the Americans have an extremely deep roster in the 2024 Olympics. He has the luxury of not needing to worry about where the team’s scoring will come from without Kevin Durant. Steph Curry and Anthony Edwards have stepped up to lead the team offensively. Once Kevin Durant can return, the Americans will get their all-time leading scorer back in the starting lineup. Durant has 435 career points as he enters his fourth Olympic games.
Over the past two weeks, Durant has missed all activities for Team USA. The 35-year-old was worried at one point that his injury might affect his availability for the Olympics. However, that doesn’t seem to be the issue anymore the Americans. They’ve been extremely cautious with Durant as they know how valuable he is to their roster. Head coach Stever Kerr said he would love to get Durant some playing time in one of these last two exhibition games. Team USA will monitor how Durant feels after practice on Friday to determine his game status for Saturday vs. South Sudan.
He’s back 🫡@KDTrey5 x 🇺🇸 #USABMNT pic.twitter.com/bIwZbQbZwX
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 19, 2024
Over Kevin Durant’s Olympic career, he averages (19.8) points per game for Team USA. The two-time NBA champion will practice with his teammates on Friday to attempt to play on Saturday. It would be ideal for Durant to see some playing time before the Olympics officially start later this month. We’ll see how healthy Durant is when he returns to play for the Americans.
