VILLENEUVE-D'ASCQ, France — Kevin Durant, the U.S. men’s basketball basketball star who has not played in five pre-Olympics exhibition games with a sore calf, went through a non-contact practice at Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Wednesday, but his status remains unclear for the team’s Group C opener Sunday against Serbia.
"We will do some live stuff (Thursday), so the plan is for him to get in the scrimmage and see how he handles that," U.S. coach Steve Kerr said following practice at the massive soccer stadium turned basketball arena nearly 140 miles north of Paris. "But yeah, he looked good (Wednesday), and he did everything and got a lot of shots up and told me he's feeling pretty good."
The U.S. was 5-0 in the exhibition games but had close wins against South Sudan (101-100) and Germany (92-88), and Durant, USA Basketball’s all-time leading men’s Olympic scorer, would give the U.S. a significant boost. He is also trying to become the first American male to win four gold medals in men’s basketball.
Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from
The U.S. already had to replace Kawhi Leonard (recovering from a knee injury) with Derrick White, but Kerr said there is not concern now that Durant won’t be able to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kerr said USA Basketball men’s team managing director Grant Hill is in communication with team trainers, Durant’s management and the Phoenix Suns. Hill said after the first U.S. exhibition game against Canada on July 10 that he expected Durant to return for one of the next four exhibition games. That didn't happen.
"This is not going to be like us going out and saying, 'Hey, let's just throw him out there,'" Kerr said. "This will be a big collaboration."
Durant is expected to talk with reporters Thursday in Paris.
2025-01-19 09:50390 view
2025-01-19 09:502514 view
2025-01-19 09:292346 view
2025-01-19 09:26876 view
2025-01-19 08:582402 view
2025-01-19 08:36362 view
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge is due to decide Tuesday whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conv
Team Great Britain’s Kye Whyte is on the mend following a crash that sent the Olympian to the hospit
French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati's Olympic dream has ended for a NSFW reason.At the men's qualif