Coach K Makes His Olympic Choice Between Kevin Durant and LeBron James Very Clear

LeBron James was just honored as the first men's basketball player to ever be the United States' Olympic flag-bearer. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has clearly emerged as the de facto captain of Team USA, too, regularly taking over in crunch-time while serving as the Americans' loudest voice both on and off the floor.

Even if the United States falls short of its quest for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold in Paris, James—who's already won a pair of gold medals—is bound to finish his national team career as one of the program's best players.

Will he stand alone on Team USA's individual mountaintop at the conclusion of the 2024 Games, though? Not according to former United States coach Mike Krzyzewski, who recently told Jim Rome that Kevin Durant is the best Olympic player of all-time.

"I think he is because of longevity and accomplishment," Coach K said when asked if Durant is the greatest Olympian ever. "Again, it’s unique. The amount of points he’s scored, he’s scored a lot more than anyone else. And when he did that, when he scored, in Istanbul in 2010, he averaged 33 points per game in the medal round. Obviously, in London, he was part of that huge that we had with LeBron and Kobe. And in 2016 in Rio, he was our best scorer and really led our team to the gold medal."

Durant came to Paris as Team USA's leading scorer in Olympic history, adding to that total in spectacular form while pouring in 23 points during the Americans' opening win over Serbia on Sunday.

Even more impressive? Durant's flame-throwing first half versus Nikola Jokic and company came in his highly anticipated return from a calf injury, which had sidelined him for the previous three weeks.

"What he did against Serbia does not surprise me," Krzyzewski said. "He may have been resting his leg, but his touch doesn’t need any rest. It’s one of the best ever in the world."

Durant, James and Team USA are back in action on Wednesday against South Sudan.

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