Will Kevin Durant play against Serbia in Team USA’s opening game?

In their run-up to the Olympics, the Americans went five games undefeated. Yet, with clear struggles against South Sudan and an unconvincing performance against Serbia who they will face in their opening game on Sunday, the critics came out, and perhaps rightly so.

Steve Kerr hopes Kevin Durant could be in the mix

On Sunday evening, the United States men’s basketball team will officially begin its 2024 Olympic campaign with a game against Serbia who are led by the NBA’s reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. That’s not to say Team USA doesn’t have their own star, indeed, they have a whole host of them including players such as Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid to name a few. Yet, there is one player who is yet to play, having not featured in any of the American’s preparatory games ahead of the tournament: Kevin Durant. The Phoenix Suns star has been struggling with a calf injury, but head coach Steve Kerr remains “hopeful” that Durant will be good to go for tip-off on Sunday.

“Hopefully [Durant will play],” Kerr said, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well, and we’ll have another practice today and we’ll just keep taking it day by day.” Interestingly, Kerr also went on to give updates on the status of Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid both of whom have been fighting illness in recent days. Kerr explained that Embiid did in fact miss practice on Saturday, while Davis has been unavailable for days. Needless to say, it’s not an ideal moment with the prospect of facing Jokic, however, Kerr believes it will all work out. “I’m confident we’ll have everybody ready [Sunday],” he said.

Now, where context is concerned, it’s worth noting that Durant is Team USA’s all-time leading scorer with three gold medals and counting. For a team that is as stacked as the Americans’ they have actually struggled to shoot the ball at times which is precisely why Durant’s involvement is key, being an efficient shooter. Further to that, his versatility gives Kerr and the team as a whole an element of flexibility that would otherwise be unavailable. As for Embiid and Davis, it appears Kerr isn’t terribly concerned, however, their situation shouldn’t be dismissed.

Consider for a moment that at the international level, the role of a center is of much greater importance and the Team USA doesn’t have a ton of depth at the position with only Bam Adebayo remaining. Ultimately, Kerr’s men may not be operating at full strength but it sounds like it won’t be long before they do and that’s going to be something to see.