USA Gold Medal Game: Who is the All-Time Top Scorer for Americans in the Olympic Finals?

Team USA won its first gold medal for basketball in 1936. Since then, the team has collected 16 gold medals in total. And now, they are on their way to make it 17 in the upcoming Olympic finals against France. Through these years, the US side faced various opponents across the globe and continued to stay on top. At the same time, the team also witnessed various superstars from each generation, stepping up for the team at the right moment, the Finals.

Starting from the mid-1930s to the current generation, the following players have stepped up at the gold medal game: Joe Fortenberry, Bill Russell, Jerry Lucas, Bill Bradley, Tom Henderson, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Ray Allen, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant. While each of them made a valuable contribution to help the team cross the line, it’s also important to identify the person who sprung out the most. Basically, we are arriving at the title question: Who is the All-Time Top Scorer for Americans in the Olympic Finals?

Up until 1976, there is insufficient data to determine the highest individual scores in the Olympic Finals. However, the final score has given a picture that the players are less likely to score beyond 20 points.

Team USA Olympics Finals results

However, with the available data, Kevin Durant leads the race as the all-time top scorer of Team USA in the Olympic Finals with 30 points. Importantly, the Slim Reaper has done it twice in his career (2012, 2016). Moreover, KD also holds the second spot with 29 points in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Nevertheless, there are few other players in the past, who come closer to surpassing the 30-point mark. Notably, David Robinson scored 28 points in 1996, followed by Dwyane Wade with 27 points in the 2008 Finals. Interestingly, rare data revealed that Jerry Lucas of the 1960 Olympic team dropped 23 against the Soviet Union.

Will anyone break Kevin Durant’s Olympic Finals record?

Kevin Durant stepped into the Paris Olympics with the record of all-time scoring leader of Team USA’s men’s team. And he doubled it down by becoming the all-American scoring leader beating Lisa Leslie’s record. While KD already holds two records far from the reach of his teammates, they can have a crack at the Finals high score record.

In the semi-final game, Stephen Curry almost broke Carmelo Anthony‘s record for most points in an Olympic game (37) with only one point short. So, if Curry continues from where left off, the Baby-faced Assassin can surpass the 30-point mark. Moreover, the team’s leader, LeBron James, who put up a rare triple-double in the semi-final game, can have a poetic ending to his last Olympic game with a record.

Importantly, the team can’t take their Finals opponents, France, lightly. Les Bleus has a 7 ‘4 center, Victor Wembanyama, who is known for his defensive ability and rim protection. So, the US side has to come out with all guns blazing to secure their 5th consecutive Olympic gold.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.