It's been almost a week since Team USA won the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics men's basketball tournament. Yet, until now, people are still debating whether LeBron James deserved to win the MVP award or if Stephen Curry was robbed of that honor.
Well, former NBA lottery pick Rashad McCants has added another angle to that argument. During the recent episode of Gil's Arena, the former Minnesota Timberwolves guard argued that if Kevin Durant wanted to, he could have easily won the MVP award over LeBron and Steph.
"If KD really, really, really want to put his foot down," said McCants. "He would be the MVP because he is the best player on the team. He's seven foot, could shoot as good as Steph, and carried Steph to two championships. So he can live through Steph's success too, yeah man, that's my man, but he knows what it is."
KD also had big moments
Durant ranked third behind Steph and LeBron in scoring at 13.8 points per game. But that was because he played fewer minutes than both and took fewer shots than his buddies. However, when the U.S. got its first scare against Serbia in their first match of the Olympics, it was Kevin who rose to the occasion.
Despite not playing a single game with the team, he came off the bench and knocked down his first eight shots. That performance not only led the Americans to the win over Serbia but also gave them a positive start to the tournament because you could just imagine the pressure they faced if they lost their opening game.
In their semifinal rematch against Serbia, Durant scored only nine points in 24 minutes of playing time. However, he scored seven of his points in the fourth quarter, including a crucial jumper that gave Team USA a four-point lead with 34 seconds left to play after Bogdan Bogdanovic brought Serbia to within 91-89.
Related: "You could just feel it, the lack of respect" - Alonzo Mourning on the tense environment in the gold medal game against France in the 2000 Olympics
Durant was the best player on Team USA
KD entered the Paris Olympic tournament as Team USA's all-time male Olympic scorer. However, it was unsure what role, if any, Kevin would play as he was dealing with a calf injury that forced him to sit out all of the squad's five exhibition games.
"KD is such a fu***, you know, y'all got it," added McCants. "KD is y'all got it, he cool. KD know what it is. Who hit the clutch shot to put it away? Steph(is the MVP) for sure, but KD is the best player. "
During the gold medal game, Durant scored 15 points in his first 30 minutes of the game. However, because Steph went hot in the final 2:47, he did the right thing, which was to defer to the hot hand. But as Rashad said, KD didn't mind because everyone knows he played with Curry before, and he carried the Dubs to back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Related: "As far as 2028, who knows, man" - KD is not closing the door on winning a 5th Olympic gold medal
Most Popular
Comments / 0