The US basketball team is in the semifinals of the Olympic Games after a convincing victory against Brazil. Kevin Durant sets an Olympic record with his victory.
NBA superstar Kevin Durant broke a special record at the Olympic Games in Paris. The Phoenix Suns superstar crowned himself the best Olympic scorer in US basketball history in the USA’s comfortable 122:77 victory in the quarterfinals against Brazil.
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The previous record was held by women’s basketball icon Lisa Leslie with a total of 488 points. Durant only needed the first six points of his total of eleven points against Brazil to become the new record holder.
“Records are made to be broken. I will hold this one proudly until a new great comes along and surpasses me. Lisa Leslie, you are the gold standard in basketball. Thank you for all your love and support over the years. Now all that matters is the gold medal,” Durant wrote on X about his record and accompanied it with an iconic photo of him casually posing with his teammates.
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The previous record holder, Leslie, also spoke up on X and congratulated Durant: “Congratulations Kevin Durant. I am honored that you broke my record. Our dedication to our country is clearly set in stone. Now go get another gold medal, my friend. One team, one goal, gold!”
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Olympic Games 2024: Durant wants fourth gold
The gold medal is also Kevin Durant’s clear goal. It would be his fourth gold in his fourth Olympic Games. The 35-year-old won gold with Team US in 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo.
He was the USA’s top scorer in two of these games. In London he led his team to the title with a total of 156 points; in Rio he scored one point less, but was again the top scorer with 155 points.
The previous record holder, Leslie, scored a total of 488 points at the Olympics. She led the US women’s national team to gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, 2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Athens and 2008 in Beijing.
Despite his changed role, it was clear that Durant could break the record in these games. The NBA star will only be playing from the bench in Paris. Before the games, however, he already had 435 points to his name.
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In this tournament, 23 points against Serbia, 14 points against South Sudan, eleven points against Puerto Rico and now six of his eleven points against Brazil were enough to break the record.
For Durant, however, the games are about more than just the scoring record. He also wants to become the record Olympic champion in men’s basketball with four gold medals.
2024-08-07 17:36:10
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