Kevin Durant and LeBron James are the only active NBA players with four gold medals at the Olympics, a number that is only tied with Carmelo Anthony in all-time men’s basketball history.
Therefore, playing for a potential fifth gold medal at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles could be the perfect storybook ending to Durant’s Olympic career, as winning it would make him the only man to ever do it in basketball history. But Durant might reconsider chasing history if his body says otherwise.
At the Game Plan conference, co-hosted by CNBC and Durant’s Boardroom, the Rockets superstar addressed potentially playing for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in LA.
“Yeah, if I’m still me. I don’t want that ‘veteran, sit on the end of the bench, get your fifth,'” said Durant as the crowd laughed at the conference.
Durant would be 39 years old at the time of the 2028 Olympics, which would be just as old as LeBron James was when he led Team USA in assists and rebounds to win his fourth gold medal last year. Of course, James is an anomaly of nature and is not the standard for how all average players end up playing at that age. But Durant is not average either, is he?
In three of his four gold medal runs with Team USA, he led the team in scoring across the tournament. It was only in 2024, when the Avengers came together and Stephen Curry played for Team USA at the Olympics for the first time, winning his first gold medal too, that Durant finished third in scoring (13.8 points per game) behind Curry (14.8 points per game) and LeBron James (14.2 points per game).
Critics already questioned his scoring abilities just for passing the ball to Stephen Curry when the Warriors superstar was on a hot streak in the game. A senseless criticism at the time, but Durant’s response still shows how much pride he holds in his scoring abilities presently.
If Durant decides that his contributions are not good enough for him to earn a starting role on Team USA, then, despite being a home favorite to win the fifth gold medal, Durant will not take the opportunity to play.
Durant could still tie Sue Bird if they win (five gold medals each) and only be behind Diana Taurasi’s record of six gold medals among all the basketball legends who have played for Team USA in their history.
Durant also went on to say that he wants to play in the NBA as long as he can and hasn’t put a number on the years he plans to stay in the league.
“Who knows, man? I don’t want to think about it right now. But when people keep asking me these questions every day, I can’t help myself,” said Durant while grinning at the host who asked him about what retirement would be like as the audience erupted in laughter.
Durant’s business partner further added that Durant will keep playing in the NBA as long as he is having fun. Do you think Durant could replicate James’ elite fitness and try for a fifth gold medal in 2028? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
