Kevin Durant Gets Chance with Team USA
Amidst a flurry of setbacks, Kevin Durant has become the appointed face of Team USA this summer as they prepare for gold in Turkey.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has already guaranteed him a starting spot, but Durant remains modest.
"I doubt I'm the next face; I'm just another guy helping to bring a gold back to the U.S. It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," Durant said humbly at the first practice for the squad.
The American team appears geared for self-implosion, as it learned Monday night it would be without NBA All-star Amare Stoudemire due to an uninsurable contract. Stoudemire is the biggest loss, but also out will be Robin Lopez, due to back rehabilitation, and David Lee, who jammed his finger in practice Tuesday.
Among those who have represented the team in the past, there remains only Lamar Odom, who played for the Olympic team that lost three times in Athens and eventually won bronze.
Durant had the opportunity to play for the team in Beijing in 2008, but was ultimately benched after the final spot came down to him, Tyson Chandler and Tayshaun Prince. Prince won it.
National Director of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo said of Durant: "He performed so well at such a young age, he did have that sort of serious consideration relevant to being on the club, but we made a decision to go another route. He was very committed to the program, and he was going to have his opportunity in the next quad."
Colangelo added: "And almost immediately after Beijing, we started talking about Durant being one of the premier players in the league, and here he is in '10 as the guy we're going to build a team around, it seems. And he's the leading scorer in the league, he's 21 years old and he is the full package."
Durant became the youngest player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring last season, netting an average 30.1 points a game with the Oklahoma City Thunder (former the Seattle Supersonics). He scored 25 points in 29 consecutive games, the longest streak by any active NBA player.
Durant took up residence with the media earlier this month when he announced via his Twitter account he would be extending his contract with the Thunder. The news sounded relatively mute compared to the Miami Heat buzz.
Durant marked out his individuality from others, saying: "I keep telling people my situation was a little different than the other guys. It was just re-upping my contract, and I'm a quiet guy, a low-key guy, so I chose that way. LeBron James is the biggest name in sports, nothing he does is ever going to be quiet, so you can't blame him for what happened and how he made his decision."
Durant's rise to the top of the NBA follows a memorable anecdote of his time training for Beijing. While trying to make the Olympic roster, he was given a day off in Las Vegas, but players were told they could practice if they liked. He found Kobe Bryant opting for the opportunity: "Kobe was the only guy on the bus, and that spoke volumes to me — he's the best player in the game, yet he's always willing to come work on his game, so that kind of motivated me [...] He went by himself, he got a lot of shots up, and by the time he was done you could see he had gotten better over that hour [...] it was a big inspiration to me."
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