Dwyane Wade was left awe-struck at Kevin Durant‘s performance in Team USA’s opener at the 2024 Paris Olympics against Serbia. As the USA walked out to a 110-84 win, Wade was focused on Durant’s incredible 24 points on 8-9 shooting, calling it the greatest basketball he’s ever seen while referring to Durant as a living legend.
“I’m sitting here thinking about what KD just did tonight. I just watched one of the greatest basketball moments in my lifetime. Living Legend!”
I’m sitting here thinking about what KD just did tonite. I just watch one of the greatest basketball moments in my life time. 🫡 Living Legend! pic.twitter.com/k0aStjkmrj
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 29, 2024
Durant was an offensive machine in the win, scoring with ease over the entire Serbian defense also featuring Nikola Jokic. While the USA didn’t win the minutes Jokic was on the court, they did outscore the Serbians by 26 points in the nine minutes Jokic was not playing.
KD hadn’t played a competitive game all summer, missing all five Team USA exhibition matchups prior to the start of the Olympics with calf soreness. While the injury was not a major one that would’ve kept him out of competition in most cases, Durant’s troubling history with calf injuries likely forced Team USA to be extra cautious with him this time around.
The extra time off to recover from the injury clearly paid off, as Durant was at ease on the court from tip-off. There was no court rust that KD had to work through, setting a sharp offensive tone for Team USA in the first half as Serbia held early leads but was ultimately blown out.
Kevin Durant Also Impressed LeBron James
LeBron James instantly reviewed Durant’s performance against Serbia in his post-game interview, complimenting the Phoenix Suns’ forward as someone who gets the best out of him.
“I think we just bring out the best in one another. We’re very seasoned to the FIBA games. We’ve played a lot of international basketball when it comes to the Olympics and World Championships, so to have KD on our side, to have KD on my side, it’s a treat for sure. Everything that he does in practice is game speed. So when it translates out here, it’s no surprise.”
James had a wonderful Olympic opener as well, putting up 21 points with seven rebounds and nine assists. James’ 21 points were good enough for him to be the team’s second-leading scorer behind Durant, with the Slim Reaper already scoring that many points by the end of the first half.
Durant has also been complimenting James every chance he gets, opening up on the importance of having James available to play for an Olympics after he missed the last two.
“I’m so grateful to have him back, We missed him the last two Olympics. He puts fear in the other team. I think that goes a long way.”
The longtime rivals turned teammates will be expected to continue being the stars for Team USA, with Stephen Curry also expected to play a big role. James and Durant’s excellence as a forward pair essentially wrote Jayson Tatum out of the lineup, which is incredible given James is 39 years old and Durant is 35 years old. They’re still going strong, and the 26-year-old Tatum can’t claim to have unseated them just yet.
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