Durant seeks 3rd Olympic gold as Team USA’s elder statesman

Gregg Popovich says he would have begged, or cried if necessary. Anything, so long as he could convince the world’s best basketball player to play for USA Basketball’s senior national team this summer.

But the 72-year-old did not need to shed any tears. Kevin Durant is on the team on his own volition.

“If I didn’t want to come, (USA Basketball) wouldn’t have pressured me,” said the Brooklyn Nets superstar forward. “I really felt like they helped me make this decision by letting me be me and letting me make my decision on my time.”

Durant decided to don that USA jersey once more, this time as the elder statesman and de facto leader of the American squad that’s training at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center. The 32-year-old is the only three-time Olympian on the team, earning gold medals in 2012 and 2016 in London and Rio De Janeiro.

With those to his name — along with two NBA titles, two NBA Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP — Durant has nothing more to accomplish in basketball, having proven his greatness in every marquee setting imaginable.

But alas, he’s here for more. And “what it says about him, number one, is that he loves the game. He really loves to play basketball. He loves to win,” said Popovich, Team USA’s head coach. “At the core, that’s what he loves to do. And luckily for all of us, that’s who he is. So it’s a testament to his character and just desire to be part of a team and have a challenge and seek the success.”

Durant revealed that he’d been considering playing with the Americans this summer before the Nets concluded their season with a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He has a lengthy history with USA Basketball. One he briefly recalled Friday via videoconference with reporters.

It began in 2007, when he was summoned after concluding his collegiate career to train with Team USA that summer. He practiced in 2008 against the Olympic squad and has been a fixture on the senior national team ever since, claiming a gold medal in 2010 at the FIBA World Championship in addition to his two Olympic golds.

Even after all these years, the prestige of playing in the Olympics is still prominent.

“I’m looking forward to just being around the best players in the world and around the best athletes as well,” said Durant, who averaged 34.3 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Nets in the postseason.

“I just want to take in the experience.”

Durant’s new teammates are learning from his experience and have spent the week praising his play throughout the course of camp. Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, speaking Wednesday, called Durant’s leadership “terrific” and invoked his unbeaten record in international competition.

“We definitely want to keep that going,” Beal said. “It speaks volumes for him to be 10-plus years in the league and still wanting to come back and be a part of this prestigious fraternity. We definitely look up to him to push us and lead us. But at the same time, he’s very unselfish. He’s very encouraging. He wants everyone to do well.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.