Kevin Durant leads U.S. to gold-medal win over France in men’s basketball

There was only one acceptable outcome.

It did not matter that the lingering physical and mental effects of the NBA bubble and the compressed season that followed kept several American stars from competing. It didn’t matter that the team was vulnerable, an embarrassing seventh-place finish in the 2019 world championships more than signaling that the world had caught up.

It did not matter that the American roster, compiled of some of the NBA’s best scorers, the faces of their franchise, multi-time All-Stars, was more of a group of mercenaries than an actual team. It did not matter that COVID cost them one star and that the NBA Finals kept three key players in America until the eve of competition.

It did not matter. There was only one acceptable outcome.

Either you win or you’ve failed.

Kevin Durant knew it and said it loudest. And then he made sure it didn’t happen.

As he led the U.S. through a gauntlet of teams gunning for the NBA stars, Durant maintained that the only way this trip would be worth it was if it ended with gold. And against France in the final, he carried his team in a 87-82 win, scoring 29 points.

It was a showcase for his supreme and unexplainable skill, a seven-footer with octopus-length arms, Larry Bird’s jumper and Kyrie Irving’s handle totally dominating in a way only one of the best players in the world could.

It’s Durant’s third gold medal and the fourth-straight for the U.S., it’s longest streak since losing for the first time in the 1972 finals in Munich.

On the way to gold, the weight of expectations was nearly equaled by the presence of doubt. The Americans lost twice in their exhibition schedule ahead of the Games, falling to a Nigerian team. Then they lost to medal contender Australia, meaning the team had lost four of their last five games with Popovich on the bench.

The team would lose Bradley Beal to COVID-19 protocols and would see Kevin Love withdraw after struggling in camp, forcing them to make two last-minute roster changes (adding Keldon Johnson and JaVale McGee).

Popovich’s struggles with the team were problems largely fueled by the nation’s top players opting out of competition because of injuries and an ever-growing emphasis on rest. As they faltered, Popovich continued to insist that the talent around the world had closed the gap on the Americans, that the days of blowouts and highlight-reel wins had gone away.

Ironically, Popovich, more than any coach in NBA history, built his legacy on the backs of international talent. Players like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw and Patty Mills were critical pieces of their national teams as the U.S.’s talent lead shrunk.

The French team that opened the tournament by beating the U.S. was led, in part, by Nando De Colo, who the Spurs once drafted.

The Americans still had weapons, including the most prolific scorer in U.S. men Olympics history. Durant moved past Carmelo Anthony during these Games, his combination of size, skill and agility every bit as unmatched internationally as it is in the NBA.

And Holiday, who arrived in Japan with Khris Middleton and Devin Booker the night before the U.S. tournament opener, quickly became the team’s second-most important player. Regarded in the NBA as one of the game’s most versatile defenders, he instantly became the team’s defensive engine in their switch-everything scheme.