On July 31st, 2021 Kevin Durant surpassed Carmelo Anthony with a 3-pointer against the Czech Republic, in a 119-84 Team USA victory, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Durant passed Anthony’s tally of 336 points for Team USA and finished the game with 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting.
Standing at 6 ft. 10 inches, Kevin Durant has been dubbed by many experts and pundits as ‘The Greatest Scorer’ basketball has ever seen. The Brooklyn Nets superstar suffered a career-threatening Achilles injury in 2019, which led to many speculating that the ‘Slim Reaper’ will never be the same again, but KD was quick to prove his doubters wrong. In his comeback season, KD put up ridiculous performances that left the world in awe of his brilliance and magnificence.
Humble Beginnings: How it All Started for KD
Kevin Durant first got invited to the Team USA training camp in February 2007 but wasn’t able to make the roster for the 2008 Olympics. He got his first chance to play for Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, KD made big on the opportunity he was given, and led Team USA to its first FIBA World Championship in 16 years, winning the tournament MVP along the way. He averaged 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists during the tournament. Ever since then, it was quite evident that KD was destined for greatness, his scoring prowess has always been unmatched.
2012 Summer Olympics
Durant was among the first choices at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and he led Team USA to another Gold Medal accompanied by a star-studded cast that had the likes of the great Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony. Kevin Durant led the tournament for scoring and outscored his closest competition by 30 points. He put up 27 points in an 86-80 victory in the semi-finals against Argentina and ended up setting the record for most points scored by a player at a single Olympics Basketball tournament. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals as Team USA ended the tournament undefeated.
2016 Summer Olympics
Durant chose not to play for Team USA during the 2014 FIBA World Championship; however, he returned to the roster for the 2016 Olympics, leading Team USA to another Gold Medal and solidifying his legacy as one of the all-time greats for Team USA. He led Team USA in scoring again with 19.4 points, putting up a historical 30-point performance in front of more than 10,000 spectators in a 96-66 victory over Serbia to win the Gold for Team USA. He also won the USA Male Basketball Athlete of the year in acknowledgment of his performances.
2020 Summer Olympics
Before the Olympics started, Team USA had struggled in their exhibition matches, prompting many to doubt their chances of going all the way. Nevertheless, KD inspired team USA to be brilliant, and he along with a young core of superstars like Jason Tatum and Bam Adebayo, set out on a mission to prove the doubters wrong.
Durant entered the 2020 Summer Olympics with 311 points, many betting options at Casumo already had him as a favorite to surpass Carmelo Anthony as the leading Team USA scorer. And that is exactly what he did, in a preliminary round game against the Czech Republic, KD transcended to the top of the all-time scoring list for Team USA.
Durant put up another amazing 29 point performance in the final game of the tournament. He had another historical tournament as he led Team USA in scoring for the third straight Olympics Basketball Tournament with 20.7 points, and won his third straight Gold Medal.
The way it all began for Kevin Durant, from getting cut from the Team USA roster in 2008, to becoming the all-time scoring leader, is an inspiration to