Kevin Durant’s calf injury won’t stop him from making the trip to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that there is “no thought” about replacing Durant on the roster.
The Phoenix Suns superstar missed all five of the United States’ exhibition games leading up to the Olympics due to the calf issue, including the team’s 92-88 victory over Germany on Monday. However, the U.S. was still able to finish with a perfect 5-0 record.
The 35-year-old sustained the injury before training camp started on July 6, and has been unable to suit up. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Durant is considered “day to day” with the calf strain.
“I’ve seen progress every day,” Durant said on Friday, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “It’s one of those things. Just got to monitor it every day. I’ll see how I feel after I do certain exercises. My thing is to keep running and see what happens.”
Steve Kerr says there is “no thought” about not bringing Kevin Durant to Paris, but the team wants him to go through multiple practices before returning.
Reporter asked if there’s concern about integrating KD mid-Olympics.
Jrue Holiday: “No… That’s Kevin Durant, my boy.” pic.twitter.com/t0NftDHN9X
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) July 22, 2024
While Team USA has remained unbeaten without the 14-time All-Star, the squad has survived several close calls and could use his offensive output. Prior to Monday’s narrow victory, Kerr’s team erased a double-digit deficit to earn a close one-point win over South Sudan on Saturday.
In addition to his two NBA championships, Durant is one of the most accomplished international stars on the United States roster. He’s the all-time scoring leader in the Olympics for the U.S. men’s team, and he’ll attempt to become the first men’s basketball player to win four gold medals in the 2024 Games (h/t Reynolds).
Durant showed no signs of slowing down during his 2023-24 campaign with the Suns, averaging 27.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 52.3/41.3/85.6 shooting splits.
He’ll attempt to recover from his calf injury before the United States’ first group play matchup, a clash with Serbia on July 28.