Is Kevin Durant playing in Team USA’s game against Germany in the USA Basketball Showcase?
Team USA has won all four games in their pre-Olympic tour but they will be without one of their top players who is still battling a calf strain.
The USA Basketball Showcase comes to an end today in London as the gold medal favorites take on the reigning World Cup winners, Germany. They have been without one of their biggest stars through the first four games of the Showcase, and it looks like Kevin Durant will miss the final tune up as well.
Game time for KD
Durant has yet to play with this newly assembled super team that was been pieced together by USA Basketball and director Grant Hill. He suffered a calf strain before the start of camp in Las Vegas, and has missed each of the exhibitions Team USA has played.
Head Coach Steve Kerr ensured that he would show extreme caution before rushing the Suns star back to the court, and he is continuing to be patient today in London. Durant was set to make his return for a team he has already won three gold medals with, looking for an all-time record fourth gold this summer in Paris.
Team USA have gone undefeated in their first four games of their exhibition tour, but have showed signs of weakness from time-to-time. They barley squeaked by South Sudan in their last game, and will now take on one of the top teams in the FIBA world rankings.
KD chasing history
Durant has been to the last three Olympics with Team USA, winning gold in a three to tie Carmelo Anthony as the most decorated Olympic mens basketball players ever. Should he win gold this year he would stand alone as the only mens basketball player to ever win four, but they will have to get through a tough field of teams that are slowly catching up to the United States.
Germany won the World Cup last year, and that triggered some of the top players in the US to ban together and form this super team that has been compared to the Dream Team of 1992. Germany, Serbia, Australia and surprise team South Sudan among others will all be chasing Team USA, trying to knock off the four time defending champions off the gold medal podium.
Team USA will start their Olympic campaign on Sunday July 28th against Serbia at 11:15 a.m. ET. That will be their first of three group stage games, followed by South Sudan on the 31st and then Puerto Rico on August 3rd.