Kevin Durant Reaches “Captain America Status” After Breaking Team USA All-Time Scoring Record

PARIS. France — Kevin Durant keeps making history while he helps guide the United States to basketball glory at the Paris Olympics. After scoring 11 points against Brazil in a 122-87 in the quarterfinals, Durant surpassed Lisa Leslie for the most career points in USA Basketball history.

With 3:06 remaining in the third quarter, Durant had an open lane to finish a dunk, pushing his scoring total to six points on the night. It was enough to make history. This victory set the stage for a highly anticipated semifinal showdown with Serbia where Stephen Curry and his squad did the unexpected, despite digging themselves into a huge hole.

Durant entered Thursday’s semifinal matchup against Serbia with 494 points in his Olympic career, which puts him in a position to become the first American to score 500 points on this stage. He continues to climb the career leaderboard for scoring in Olympic history, and he has plenty more to attain. The achievement came days after Durant became Team USA’s all-time leading rebounder.

When uncovering the impact Durant brings to any team goes far beyond just his impressive scoring prowess. He continues to enable the American’s unparalleled lineup versatility by being an unofficial seven-footer with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and quickness like a wing to enhance defense when guarding in space and while serving as a weak-side help defender with timely rotations. He’s also a dynamic off-the-catch offensive threat who doesn’t need to pound the air out of the ball to score with the versatility to be featured in anything ranging from off-ball actions, pick-and-roll, or post-ups, beyond being a tough draw for any isolation defender. It’s safe to say that he’s the ultimate cohesive superstar, whether it’s the NBA or the Olympics.

Carmelo Anthony, who attended Tuesday’s game, had established himself as the most accomplished Olympic men’s basketball player in USA Basketball history earlier this decade after winning his third gold medal and fourth medal at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Games. Only Gennadi Vonov and Sergie Belov, members of the Soviet Union decades ago, have earned four medals among all players in men’s Olympic basketball history.

In the semi-final, Team USA completed an epic comeback over Serbia, winning 91-86. However, Team USA has a bigger battle to fight, and Durant is on the verge of surpassing this mark.

Kevin Durant is more focused on winning gold than stats

A significant element of what makes Kevin Durant such a unique player is his focus on winning despite having every necessary tool to dominate the game as a scorer. His continued commitment to Team USA has positioned him in unchartered historical territory.

By competing for America at the 2021 Tokyo Games when many top names opted otherwise in the middle of COVID-19, Durant earned his third gold medal, tying Carmelo Anthony in this regard. Durant remains focused on winning his fourth gold medal rather than putting much stock into statistical accolades. “Records are meant to be broken,” Durant said. “Somebody will come along to do the same. I’m focused on trying to win this gold.”

He attributes his work with various training staffs throughout his career to allowing him to sustain being a top player at 35 years old. “Training staffs, the work that we put in, just keeping my body ready and just staying in the gym, to be honest,” Durant said earlier during the Olympics.

Durant’s unselfish nature remains one of the crucial elements to the USA’s success. Despite being such an iconic player, he’s fully embraced his role as a closer and is coming off the bench to help provide a timely spark. His fellow superstar counterparts, including LeBron James and Stephen Curry, have yet to come off the bench.

“It’s basketball, it really doesn’t matter who starts,” Durant said after Friday’s practice. “It’s about really who finishes the game, who put their impact on the game while they’re in the game. So I just try to do my best to impact it any way I can.”

It’ll be long before any player comes within striking distance of Durant’s scoring record. Diana Taurasi is competing in her final Olympics and narrowly has over 400 points. Anthony, with 336 points, is the only player aside from Durant to reach the 300-point threshold in USA men’s basketball history.

Given Durant’s mentality and drive to win, it’s easy to see why his peers hold his basketball legacy in such high regard.

Kevin Durant’s peers share their respect

The opportunity to play for Team USA allows one to observe some of the greatest players in the game’s history closely daily. When there are opportunities to learn from that wisdom in a practice, game, or film room, there is no better time to take advantage than the Olympics with how much time teams spend together.

Durant’s Phoenix Suns teammate, Devin Booker, described him as “Captain America” and praised his continued dedication to excellence on the court. “That’s Captain America status. He’s a hard worker, man,” Booker said of Durant while adding how grateful he is to witness this firsthand as his NBA teammate. “Now that we’re teammates, I get to see the behind-the-scenes, and all he cares about is hoops. He loves it, 24/7, that’s all he does.” 

Durant’s success draws the admiration of his superstar Olympic teammate, LeBron James, who continues to make history in his own right. “He’s incredible. He was born to play ball, and he’s simply incredible,” James said of Durant. “I’m happy for him. Congratulations to him. I’m super proud of him. And he’s got more to go.”

For Durant to continue to bolster his Olympic resume, Team USA must achieve victories so that the NBA superstar can walk away with another gold medal as they advance to the finals after crushing Serbia.