Team USA is gearing up to face South Sudan for their next exhibition game in London. The Olympics are just about a week away and the warmup games are also coming to an end. However, the Americans have shown what they’re capable of without their all-rounder. Kevin Durant has not participated in any practices following Team USA’s first win against Canada in Vegas, until today. KD got some shots up during the shootaround in London ahead of the penultimate warmup. Of course, the question arises, will he play against South Sudan?

Now, along with the squad, coaching staff, and other members, Brian Windhorst also traveled with the team to the UK. Watching him practice, Windhorst wasn’t so sure that he’d play in the upcoming game. “I don’t think he’s going to play tomorrow against South Sudan. I do think if he doesn’t have any setbacks over the weekend, we could see him play Monday night in their last exhibition game against Germany,” said Windhorst.

We’ve seen the same when Durant went down in the second round back in 2019. Suffering an Achilles injury, KD just had to return to play against Toronto, ultimately tearing his Achilles. Although the seven-footer was advised to rest, but the situation was as desperate. We might see the same as HC Steve Kerr will look to give him minutes against Germany. The group stage tips off on the 28th for the States, as they’ll face Serbia, who they recently defeated in Abu Dhabi.

It would be a wise decision to sit him out for the next game and wait for Monday. KD sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and rightfully so. “You know, once understanding this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of opportunity you know. So guys are taking advantage of,” said Durant. And yes, a trio of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant isn’t something that is bound to happen again. Fans have awaited this moment for long and KD has taken easy steps, ensuring his availability for the group stage.

Kevin Durant is the protagonist of this squad

Durant is quite the main character of this team. We could make the case for James as well, but Durant has a lot of instances with every member of the team as well as the Olympics. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist while leading Team USA in points per game in all these Olympic appearances. KD will be reuniting with his two-time championship partner, Steph, and Steve Kerr. He’ll be teaming up with Bron after 2012 in the span of which he beat his Cavs in the finals two years in a row.

Not only that, but he has his biggest fan who looked up to him as a kid and is now his teammate, Anthony Edwards. Also, the seven-footer has one of his current teammates joining the squad. Clearly Kevin has a lot to look forward to playing in the Olympics. The Slim Reaper will have to take steady steps to make sure that he is in action in Paris. A fourth gold medal will further solidify his career when talking about his impact on the game. It will be interesting to see whether he decides to suit up against South Sudan today.

What are your thoughts on KD returning? Do you think he should sit out the next game? Let us know in the comments.