The new Netflix series ‘Court of Gold’ is giving fans a tremendous look into the incredible Gold medal triumph that Team USA pulled off during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The run started with the USA’s opener against the Nikola Jokic-led Serbia squad who were expected to be medal contenders.
Kevin Durant ensured the Serbians didn’t stand a chance by making his first eight shots of the game. He had 21 points at halftime as the USA led by eight points, which led to a previously unseen breakdown in the Serbian locker room with Jokic and coach Svetislav Pesic yelling at the player for their failure to stop Durant.
Nikola Jokic: “Bro, if you have Adebayo in the corner and Durant is at the 45, don’t f***ing stay on Adebayo if Durant is there.”
Svetislav Pesic: “Let’s see if Durant, the best man on the court, who shoots 5-for-5 on three-pointers, he comes through and puts a ball through your hoop, whom are you guarding? You’re guarding him! You’re not guarding any other player. No other player is of your concern! He is your concern! It’s my bad, I should have assigned a different player to guard Durant. If we ourselves can’t see and do it, he is the one who will do the shooting. Who else? And he gets the ball, as if he’s alone as a ghost!”
KD had Serbia’s locker room falling apart pic.twitter.com/3fcam05ltO
— Vévo (@vevosuave) February 18, 2025
Durant hadn’t actually started this game as he was coming off a minor injury and had been a bench piece throughout Team USA’s exhibitions. He checked into the game with USA trailing by six points (20-14) before going on a run of buckets we’ve never seen before in high-level international basketball.
He would rattle off 21 points (8-8 FG) in just eight minutes of action, giving USA a 58-49 lead at the half. The momentum of the game had swung so hard during this stretch that Serbia would crumble to a 110-84 win. Durant would end the night with 25 points while being supplemented by strong performances by the likes of LeBron James (21 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST).
The Serbians would lose to the USA again in the semi-final and be forced to compete for the Bronze medal, which they ultimately did win and went viral for their spirited celebrations after the fact. The USA would go on to win the Gold medal, remaining undefeated throughout the tournament and re-establishing American dominance at the highest level of international basketball.
Durant is impossible to stop when he gets going and this game against Serbia was a phenomenal example of the same. He single-handedly changed the direction of the match with his effortless offense, and we now know that he had the Serbian locker room melting down at halftime. This probably allowed the USA to blow them out and seal this win.
This tournament saw Durant further extend his lead as the greatest scorer in Team USA’s history, also becoming the all-time rebounder for the national team.
He’s the only player to have won four Gold medals with Team USA, and he hasn’t ruled out potentially declaring for the squad in 2028 to win his fifth straight Gold medal at 40 years old.
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