Getty Kevin Durant and 2 Chainz at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.
July marks the start of the 2021 Olympics that will take place in Tokyo, Japan. Team USA basketball will be looking to defend their gold medal from the London 2016 Olympics and capture the country’s 16th gold medal overall. Team USA will be headlined by Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant who will be seeking his third gold medal in Tokyo.
As expected, Team USA is the heavy favorite to win the gold medal for men’s basketball. The squad is loaded with the NBA’s top heavyweights including Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal who was second in the NBA in scoring last season, as well as Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum.
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Kevin Durant Claps Back at Fan on Twitter
As is the case with any team, every player that tries out cannot make the roster, that is just the way it is. As tough a pill as it may be to swallow some players are going to get snubbed. However, in order to get snubbed from Team USA, you first have to meet the team’s qualifications including being a player that was actually born in the United States.
KD, had to explain this to a fan on Twitter who was unhappy that Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks didn’t make the Team USA roster. The funny part is that Brooks is from Canadian. Brooks committed to playing for Team Canada back in December but recently said he is now undecided on if he will suit up for this summer’s Olympics.
@waldorfsfinest U mean the Canadian Dillon brooks?
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Steve Kerr Excited to Coach KD Again
For many players, the Olympics is sort of a family reunion as they are reunited with old teammates whether they played together in AAU, college, or perhaps on an NBA team. KD will be reunited with two key components from his Golden State Warriors days in his former teammate Draymond Green and his former head coach Steve Kerr.
Durant was the Most Valuable Player, for two of the three championships that Kerr won as head coach of the Warriors. KD has since moved on and joined the Brooklyn Nets. As one of the coaches on the Team USA basketball staff, Kerr will have an opportunity to coach Durant again in the Tokyo Olympics. He is excited about the opportunity to coach one of the greatest basketball players of all time once again.
“Thrilled to be coaching KD again,” Kerr per NBC Sports Bay Area. “He gave us three amazing years. It was a wonderful relationship. I know people want to focus on the end when maybe it didn’t finish so well with the injury and his departure, but everything about Kevin and his involvement in the Olympics and coaching him again, it all excites me.”
Steve Kerr, Warriors Happy for Kevin Durant’s Success
Despite an other worldly performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round Durant and the Nets were eliminated in 7 games. The Nets were a possession or two away from advancing behind Durant’s 48 points which are the most ever scored in a Game 7 in NBA history. Although Durant is no longer balling out for Golden State, Kerr insists that everyone within the Warriors organization is rooting for KD, because they realize just how close he was to never playing basketball again.
“You think about what he did for this organization, not only helping us win titles but to come back and try to play through injuries and then suffer the devastating Achilles injury,” Kerr said. “We all just wanted to see Kevin healthy and to see him in the playoffs playing at the level he reached, it was really, really gratifying for all of us.”
Kerr and Durant have already won two NBA titles together. Adding a gold medal to their list of accomplishments would make their resume that much more impressive.
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