How LeBron and Steve Kerr drafted Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to Team USA – NBC Sports Bay Area & California
NBA stars from around the world gathered at the Paris 2024 Olympics with one common goal: winning a gold medal.
And with a 98-87 victory over France on Saturday at Bercy Arena, Team USA did just that.
However, the formation of basketball’s self-proclaimed “Avengers” took place long before the Paris Olympics.
Speaking to reporters after Team USA’s victory on Saturday, Kevin Durant shared the moment he decided to compete in his fourth Olympics and who ultimately pushed him to do so.
“I knew that (while playing for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2022-23 season),” Durant said (via Sam Amick of The Athletic). “(Team USA general manager) Grant (Hill) and (coach) Steve (Kerr), they came to Brooklyn and they tried to get me to the World Cup, so I knew how important it was for us to be there for 2024, and I kind of committed there.”
“Last summer, (LeBron James) started texting everyone, giving his opinion on who should be on the team, asking if everyone was playing. When we started texting like that, I knew we were all going to get together and it was going to be a special moment.”
Durant, for the first time in five years, reunited with his former Warriors teammate Steph Curry, who competed in his first Olympics this summer.
“I knew Steph was going to play,” Durant said. “He had never been on an Olympic team before. He had won a world title but wanted the Olympic medal. So it was a no-brainer, especially when those two committed, and once the team was put together, I knew it was going to be special.”
Curry, with the taste of victory still fresh, first thought about joining Team USA in 2024 moments after winning his last championship with the Warriors two years earlier.
“In 2022, when we were coming back from Boston, I joked (with Kerr) that it was the one thing I hadn’t done, and I committed to doing it quietly,” Curry said. “(Then) last September, I watched the World Cup and realized it was something I hadn’t done. I felt healthy and capable of doing it, so it was something I wanted to do. It’s the same thing ‘K’ said. The texts started pouring in.”
Saturday’s victory, and the gold medal that came with it, was not only the culmination of weeks of hard work and dedication throughout the offseason, but also years of discussion and preparation for what will likely be the final Olympic appearance for three of the NBA’s most iconic players.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast
