Team USA's Devin Booker championed his Phoenix Suns teammate Kevin Durant with a new nickname after the forward's stellar Paris Olympics performances.
"That's Captain America status," Booker said. "I feel like he has every record, every Olympic record. Now we have to get him his fourth gold." Durant broke Lisa Leslie's all-time Team USA points record during the Americans 122-87 route of Brazil in the Olympics quarterfinals on Tuesday.
"Congratulations @KDTrey5 , I’m honored to have you break my TeamUSA Olympic record!" Leslie tweeted after the game. "Our dedication to our country is evident and etched in stone!! Now go get another Gold medal my friend! One Team, One Goal, Gold!"
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Durant raced past Leslie's career mark of 488 and now has 494 points after an 11-point showing in 21 minutes against Brazil. The Suns superstar shot 4-of-8 from the field, made all three of his free throw attempts, and also added four rebounds and three assists.
The two-time NBA champion averages 14.8 points per game, the second-best on Team USA behind Anthony Edwards , at the Paris games. He's also shooting a ridiculous 60% clip from the field and a mind-boggling 62.5% from three. Durant, already a three-time Olympic gold medalist, was voted Team MVP at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after he averaged an impressive 20.7 points per game.
Booker was America's leading scorer against Brazil, scoring 18 points in 15 minutes. After impressing in previous games, the Suns guard was recently elevated to the starting lineup. Durant still finds himself coming off the bench after an injury slowed him during Team USA's exhibitions in the build-up to the Olympics. He had nothing but praise for the second unit after the game.
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"I love how we're defending and talking," Durant said . "I love how the first unit got us going tonight. Started us off well, and [the] second unit came in and tried to feed off of that. Teams are going to make runs against us," he continued. "That's just the nature of the game, but I like how we stayed poised throughout it all."
The Americans are set to face Nikola Jokic and the Serbians in a rematch from the preliminary round in the semifinals on Thursday. Coach Steve Kerr is wary of the matchup.
“Serbia is really good," Kerr said . We can't get lulled to sleep because we beat them twice. We have to be prepared for their best effort. We've got to think about, 'What are they going to do differently?'" A win would see America reach the finals, where they would have a shot at earning an impressive fifth-straight men's basketball gold medal.
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