Lisa Leslie “Had No Idea” of Her Own Olympic Record as She Finally Reacts to Kevin Durant Inching Closer to Team USA’s 16-Year-Old Feat

Like him or hate him, but you can’t ignore Team USA star Kevin Durant. KD, on Saturday, inched closer to USA’s all-time leading points scorer at the Olympics, Lisa Leslie. Participating in his fourth Olympics, Durant scored 11 points against Puerto Rico and increased his Olympic points tally to 483. While people might find it odd, Leslie herself had no recollection of the record that Durant inched closer to.

A fan on the social media networking site X wrote, “I love that they’re saying @KDTrey5 has to pass @LisaLeslie for all-time scoring in USA basketball history.” To which Leslie responded by revealing, “Me too! I had no idea.”

Durant is 6 points away from surpassing Leslie after he hit 11 points during the matchup against Puerto Rico. Leslie had accomplished the feat while powering the USA women’s team to four gold medals, starting with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and ending with the Beijing Olympics in 2008. As her last Olympic appearance came 16 years ago, it’s not surprising that she was not aware of her Olympic points tally.

Leslie had scored 488 points during her Olympics outings whereas Durant has scored 483, as of now, as Team USA advanced to the knockout round in the Paris Olympics. KD was the third-highest scorer for the USA in the game against Puerto Rico, as Anthony Edwards hit 26 points and Joel Embiid hit 15. Thus, Durant fell shy of becoming the all-time highest scorer by 6 points.

Nevertheless, Leslie’s time at the Olympics makes for a captivating story as she set record after record, representing the USA in the showpiece event.

Lisa Leslie’s time at the Olympics

During her time, Lisa Leslie was the second women’s basketball player to earn 4 gold medals at the Olympics. In 1992, she was the youngest American star to attend the Olympic trials. But her most memorable performance came in 1996 when she scored 35 points against Japan in the semi-final of the Olympic Games. That game is etched in the memory of her fans.

Leslie achieved the feat of being the USA’s all-time highest points scorer in the 2004 Olympics itself. But, that was not all. She also reached the top of the pile in rebounding and blocking. Back in the day, the dynamic American center was well known for her rivalry with the Australian star Lauren Jackson, who is the oldest women’s basketball player at the ongoing Paris Olympics.

Perhaps, now that Leslie has been reminded of the records, she will be keenly supporting Durant and hoping he breaks it in the knockouts. The 52-year-old will also be wishing Team USA all the luck for the next rounds that follow, as they look to clinch another Gold medal.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.