LAS VEGAS– The final day of workouts at Team USA’s mini-camp brought out the best surprises.
Forward Kevin Durant and center Kevin Love– two of the rising stars who helped an internationally inexperienced United States team win the 2010 World Cup and then played critical roles on the 20102 team that won a gold medal the London Olympics– both showed up at the Mendenhall Center Monday to go public with their intentions to play for America in next year’s World Cup.
The decisions by Durant and Love USA could create a ripple effect that helps convince other young Olympians, like guard Russell Westbrook and James Harden and point guard Derrick Rose to play for the United States, which will attempt to defend its title in what should be a competitive 24-team tournament that will be played in Spain, the home of the USA’s biggest rival the past two Olympics and a team with dominant size with the Gasol brothers. The winner receives an automatic bid to the 2016 Olympics games is Rio and will not have to qualify in a FIBA regional tournament the next year.
“Kevin Durant is the face of American basketball going forward,” Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said.
The versatile 6-10 Durant is the the heir apparent to LeBron James, who is the best player in the world today. James has played on U.S. Olympic teams since 2004, winning double Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012. But this may be his final appearance in a USA uniform.
“It’s representing your country,” Durant said. “You can’t take that for granted. I knew last summer I was going to play in this World Cup. I’m looking forward to the opportunity, man, of playing against the best in the world so it should be fun.”
Durant and Love were just 21-years old when they won gold medals at the World Championships in Istanbul and just 23 when they won gold in London. They have gone from the new kids on the block to part of the leadership of the program.
Durant was the break out star of the 2010 World championships. He was selected MVP after contributing a World Championship record 22.8 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals in a team high 28.2 minutes per game. He shot a sizzling 55.6 percent from the field, 44.6 from the three and 91.2 percent from the free throw line.
Durant averaged a team high 19.5 points in the London games. The 6-10 Love, who averaged 11.6 points and a team leading 7.6 rebounds per game during the Olympics, echoed Durant’s sentiments.
“K.D. mentioned it, just being part of USA Basketball has meant a lot for my career,” he said. “Jerry and Coach (Mike) K mentioned being part of the USA basketball family.”
Durant has been involved in USA basketball since age 17. In Feb. 2007, as a freshman at Texas, Durant received an invitation to Team USA Basketball training camp, becoming the second freshman after 7-0 center Greg Oden of Ohio State to do so. After playing in only a handful of games in the 2007 NBA Summer League, he was chosen to play for Team USA and participate in the State Farm USA basketball challenge, along side NBA All Stars such as James and Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. Despite a strong performance, Durant was ultimately cut from the team when the roster was trimmed to 12 for the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament. Krzyzewski cited the experience of the remaining players as the deciding factor.
“It’s a process, like everything is,” Durant said. “It took a while to find my niche with the team. But coach believed in me and invited me back every summer and I worked my way up. We had so many young guys in 2010. That was so much fun, going over to another country for a month. We built friendships that will last forever.”
“It was so much fun,” Love said. “We didn’t know if we could win without some of the guys from the Beijing team. As it turned out, five guys from that team– Tyson Chandler, K.D., Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala and myself– all made the Olympic team. I think that really helped us getting used to FIBA basketball, different rules, even the competition, knowing the competition.”
“It’s fun. That’s why we committed to it. Our summers are filled with basketball anyway. We’re be working out, putting in so many hours anyway. So, to have a USA across our chests just makes it more special.”
The fact Krzyzewski opted to come back for a third Olympics made it easier for both Durant and Love to buy in. “If he was at all on the edge, I think everybody that was committed to play in 2016 was going to go out there and persuade him to come back.”
