Kevin Durant was cleared to play in Sunday’s game against Serbia after sitting out all of Team USA training camp with a calf injury, and it would be an understatement to say the two-time NBA Finals MVP looked just fine.
Durant came off the bench for Team USA in the first half and immediately caught fire. He scored 14 points on 5/5 shooting in his first 7 minutes of action, including 4/4 from three-point range. Durant then took a rest and continued to cook when he re-entered the game. He finished 7/7 overall and 5/5 from three-point range with 19 points in the first half.
ZERO missed shots for Kevin Durant in the first half.
Easy money. 🔥 #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/nOa595PqAV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
The incredible half led to some even better memes:
KD IS COOKING 😱🔥
14 PTS
5-5 FG
4-4 3PTEASY. MONEY. SNIPER. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/59VMqui8TH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 28, 2024
kevin durant five seconds after checking in for team usa pic.twitter.com/5MXbqGgbjh
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) July 28, 2024
Kevin Durant as soon as he entered the game: pic.twitter.com/uZ8vqpG4Ui
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) July 28, 2024
How Kevin Durant sees the Serbia defense right now: pic.twitter.com/Yv1Vh6ERfu
— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) July 28, 2024
Serbia when they see Kevin Durant coming off the bench: pic.twitter.com/lCBoURLIVo https://t.co/Cw9ZmjGTkZ
— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) July 28, 2024
Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/esiL1ZQqA2
— Marcas Grant (@MarcasG) July 28, 2024
Needless to say, Durant was showing no ill effects from the calf injury.
A report earlier in the week claimed Durant was in danger of missing the game against Serbia, and K.D. seemed unhappy about the information circulating. In hindsight, that may have been because he was good to go and considered it to be nonsense.
