All the talk that the world had caught up to Team USA basketball can be thrown out the window.
Their path to defending three consecutive gold medals started off as poorly as one could imagine. They lost Bradley Beal due to COVID, Kevin Love to not being healthy, and somehow lost back-to-back exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia. Head coach Gregg Popovich was widely questioned as was the talent he brought with him to Tokyo.
In the end, none of it mattered as Team USA continued its run of dominance, winning a gold medal Saturday morning by beating France 87-82.
It’s the fourth consecutive gold medal for Team USA, and they were able to do it against the team that had beaten them earlier in the Olympics in group play.
Kevin Durant won his third gold medal and became the greatest scorer in the history of Team USA as the first player to score 100+ points in three different Olympics.
Kevin Durant is the first player in US Men's Basketball history to score 100+ in three different Olympics.
H/T @ESPNStatsInfo pic.twitter.com/lW6HPaiK8e
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 7, 2021
Durant is arguably the greatest player in the history of the team, becoming the U.S.A.’s all-time leader in points and three pointers. On Saturday, he had 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists en route to his third gold medal.
“Kevin Durant is exactly who we thought he was,” said Draymond Green. “One of the greatest players to ever play this game. One of the most special guys you’ve ever seen lace their shoes up and take a basketball court.”
“He carried this team like we needed him to, like he’s supposed to.”
Durant was the clear leader of the team, and did so after coming off a grueling seven-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA playoffs, and not too long after tearing his achilles.
“This is one of those special journeys,” Durant said. “When you’re a part of a team that’s evolving by the second, it’s amazing to see. Each game we continued to grow. I’m grateful we all committed to it, we stuck with it and we finished it off.”
The pressure is always immense for U.S. basketball, as they’ve dominated the sport internationally for decades. But as basketball has become more of a global game, international teams have become littered with NBA players. It’s no longer a foregone conclusion that America will take home the gold in basketball at the Olympics.
For France, they had reigning defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert, current L.A. Clipper Nicolas Batum, and Evan Fournier who recently signed with the New York Knicks. The French team was no joke, and gave Team USA all they could handle.
It was the closest gold-medal game that U.S. Basketball has played since sending professionals to the Olympics in 1992, but France was unable to get over the hump as they had to settle for their third silver medal in Olympic basketball.
“KD, Dame, all those guys are going to make shots that no one can guard at times, but when you [commit] those type of turnovers and also the missed free throws, those kinds of details, you shoot yourself in the foot,” Gobert said.
The 2020 Olympic basketball team will certainly not be remembered as the most impressive roster or for the most dominant run through the tournament. They will be remembered for battling through adversity. From scrambling to put together a roster, to COVID having its way, nothing was easy. But in the end, another gold medal will fly back to the States, and the rest of the world is still trying to catch up.
“Every championship is special, every group you’re with is special, but I can be honest and say this is the most responsibility I’ve ever felt,” Popovich said. “The responsibility is awesome, and I felt it every day for several years. I’m feeling pretty wiped out.”
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.