Did Kevin Durant’s sensational run to Olympic gold solidify him as world’s finest participant?

It is a golden time in Kevin Durant‘s life proper now.

Not solely did Ok.D. lead Workforce USA’s males’s basketball group to a gold medal on the Summer time Olympics, however he additionally simply locked down a monster payday to stay with the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year extension value a reported $198 million.

Durant’s payday with Brooklyn wasn’t essentially tied to his Olympic efficiency, however it definitely did not damage that he dominated on the worldwide stage.

He scored 101 whole factors ⁠— good for fourth-most within the match ⁠— throughout 5 video games performed, connecting on 53% of his makes an attempt from the sphere and 42.4% from distance.

He additionally hauled in a median of 4.6 rebounds and dished 4.0 assists per sport.

Within the gold-medal matchup towards France, Durant led all scorers with 29 factors in 35.3 minutes performed in a hard-fought, 87-82 victory for Workforce USA.

His 29 factors are tied for fourth-most in a gold-medal sport, that means he now holds or shares three of the highest 4 scoring performances in a males’s Olympic ultimate. 

It is a third consecutive gold for Durant, tying Carmelo Anthony‘s report whole, and a fourth straight for USA males’s hoops. 

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Contemplating the temperature across the group within the lead-up to the Olympics, battling for the gold introduced fairly the narrative change.

Coming into the Video games, the U.S. cut up a quartet of exhibition contests, shedding to Nigeria and Australia earlier than bouncing again with wins towards Argentina and Spain.

The motion in Tokyo opened with a thud for the Individuals, who fell 83-76 of their opener of group play towards France. That was their solely blemish of the match, nevertheless, they usually avenged that loss when it mattered most — with gold on the road.

After successful gold, Durant went dwell on Instagram to name out the naysayers earlier than heading to his information convention.

“That they had some energy rankings out. That they had us fourth, behind Slovenia,” Durant mentioned.

Added Draymond Inexperienced: “Like this not our sport.”

Then Durant continued, “C’mon man. Speaking about they catching as much as us. Like, are you severe? This ability is unmatched, you dig? Shoutout to everyone that gained this gold, everyone that chipped in and helped out.”

 (Warning: The video under incorporates NSFW language)

The rants carried over into the information convention, as Inexperienced known as the doubters to the carpet.

“You activate American sports activities discuss TV, and you bought guys like Kendrick Perkins, you realize, doubting us,” Inexperienced mentioned, through the Los Angeles Occasions. “Anyone wants to show these folks some loyalty. How about you cheer to your nation? However then when guys do not play, ‘Oh, you want to go characterize the nation.’ And you then lose, hit a bit bump within the street. And everyone’s, ‘Oh, everyone’s caught America.’ You might be an American, too. Act prefer it.”

Sure, it is protected to say Workforce USA heard the noise and responded to it.

And now that the gamers have had their say, the media has responded, too, together with ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins, who was instantly talked about.

The discourse carried over to Monday, when Chris Broussard of “First Issues First” defended himself and a few of his colleagues. 

“Ok.D. mentioned, ‘The world is saying, “Oh, they’re catching as much as us.”‘ Who mentioned that?” he mentioned. “Your individual coach, Gregg Popovich, he sat in each press convention after each loss and mentioned, ‘They’ve caught up. It is not shocking anymore once we lose.’ … So I do assume successful the gold wipes away the ugly, ugly reminiscence of shedding to Nigeria.”

As well as, Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe of “Undisputed” delved into whether or not Durant’s summer season exploits have elevated him to the head of the NBA pecking order.

Bayless certain believed so, saying on Monday’s present that Durant is “unstoppable.”

“After that [opening] France sport, I noticed backlash throughout Twitter, and I imagine all of it got here from principally LeBron [James] apologists and LeBron lovers,” Bayless mentioned. “… I advised you … it is laughable to have any suspicions about this group as a result of I stored telling you they’re nonetheless prohibitive favorites as a result of they’ve the most effective participant on the planet.

“I’ve by no means seen something like Kevin Durant. He is higher than LeBron James, particularly at this age and stage of LeBron’s profession.”

‘Kevin Durant is unstoppable ‘ — Skip Bayless reacts to KD main Workforce USA to Olympic gold I UNDISPUTED

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe focus on whether or not Kevin Durant is the most effective participant on the planet.

Sharpe did not see eye-to-eye with Bayless, however he wasn’t going to choose up the mantle for James.

As a substitute, Sharpe pointed towards the reigning NBA champion and Finals MVP, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

“Whoever has gained the NBA title — that is the most effective participant. You probably did it when Kevin Durant beat LeBron James. You probably did it when Kawhi [Leonard] gained the title. … The Olympics proved nothing. The Olympics, what it did show, is that I hope Kevin Durant comes again for Paris in 2024, or we’re not getting no gold medal.”

It appears Ok.D. nonetheless has some heads to show, however he has achieved all he can this summer season.

Maybe a title with the Nets, with whom he’ll be taking part in for the foreseeable future, would do the trick?

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