Former NBA MVP Takes Over Kobe Bryant’s Role on Team USA

Getty Team USA basketball players Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant in 2012.

Growing up in Atlanta, the first time Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards saw an NBA game in person, it was featuring his hometown team, the Atlanta Hawks, against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Edwards’ idol, forward Kevin Durant.

Fast forward one decade and Edwards finds himself as teammates with Durant for the first time on Team USA headed to the Summer Olympics in Paris. It’s an eerily similar situation to the one Durant found himself in when he first played for Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London playing alongside his boyhood hero, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.

The Athletic’s Joe Vardon pointed out the striking similarities between the two Olympic teams and how Durant, now 35 years old and playing for the Phoenix Suns, finds himself  as the mentor to the 22-year-old Edwards, who is quickly becoming one of the NBA’s biggest stars.

In 2012, it was the 33-year-old Bryant who was the mentor to Durant, then just 23 years old and two years away from winning NBA Most Valuable Player honors for the first time.

“In 2012, Bryant had already won each of the five NBA titles he’d win and been voted to 14 of his 18 All-Star Games,” Vardon wrote. “He, along with James, had led the Redeem Team in 2008. Durant admired him because, with all the fame and notoriety that came with being Kobe Bean Bryant, he tried to carry himself around teammates like a regular guy.”

Durant Trying for Fourth Olympic Gold Medal

Edwards couldn’t ask for a better mentor on Team USA than Durant, who is trying for his fourth Olympic gold medal after wins in 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 in Tokyo.

He’s also one of the players — alongside LeBron James — that the current young generation of NBA superstars grew up idolizing and watching play in their prime.

“He’s just the type of guy — he walks in the gym and even though he’s not practicing, he goes straight to a basketball and shoots before he even thinks about doing anything else,” Edwards told The Athletic about Durant. “That’s how I am. So I mean, I can’t wait to play alongside him.”

Through his first four seasons, Edwards is a two-time NBA All-Star and is coming off his first All-NBA Team selection in 2024. Through Durant’s first four seasons he was a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection.

Want to go even deeper? Through Bryant’s first four seasons he was a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection.

“Edwards is like a sponge … but also wise beyond his years,” Durant told The Athletic.

Bryant’s Presence Still Felt on Team USA

Four years after his death, Bryant’s presence was felt as Team USA wrapped up training camp in Las Vegas and celebrated the 50th Anniversary of USA Basketball. It was a celebration that included a win over Team Canada in an exhibition game and a visit from former President Barack Obama.

The team traveled to Abu Dhabi on July 12 for more exhibition games and practice with Durant nursing a calf injury but almost ready to return to action.

Team USA opens Olympic play on July 28 against Serbia.