Kevin Durant hints at playing in the 2028 Olympics with a defiant mic drop
As Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant continues to get records in the NBA, the question surrounding him was whether he would continue to play on the Olympic stage. While there was speculation about the 2024 Paris Olympics, his last tour, Durant would break his silence on his intentions to play.
Speaking to ESPN, Durant would correct the narratives, saying that while LeBron James has said he’s not playing, neither he nor his former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry have confirmed anything. He would go on to say, “I want to play,” because it also depends on how he will produce by then, since he will be close to 40 years old.
“Hell yeah, I want to play,” Durant continued. “I’d love to, but I have to stay on top of my game. I don’t expect, I want to produce on the floor and have Grant and whoever makes the decisions want to put me on the team. I don’t want to — not just because of seniority. I want to continue to prove that I can help the team win. Today, yeah, I feel like I’m going to put my name in that hat.”
Kevin Durant on negotiations over the American and European styles of basketball
With Durant throwing in his name Team USA for the 2028 Los Angeles games, the star has had his fair share of success on that stage, winning four gold medals and holding the record for the most points for a country at the Olympics.
While missing James and maybe Curry would hurt, as those two along with Durant were key in 2024, there’s still plenty of confidence to repeat as champion, even if he doesn’t like the talk around the US and European style of play.
“All I hear is, ‘AAU is ruining the game, the Euros are doing it right and the Americans are doing it wrong.’ That’s a lot of bulls*** with that. I can read between the lines on that; it’s a shot at black americans. We control the sport; they’re tired of us controlling the sport,” Durant said.
Either way, it remains to be seen what the official Team USA squad will look like at the 2028 Olympics.
2026-02-23 17:44:00
