Kevin Durant told ESPN that he plans to play in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, adding that he doesn’t like the narrative surrounding grassroots basketball.
Durant, a four-time gold medalist and the U.S. men’s leading scorer in Olympic competition, will be approaching 40 years old when the next Games come around. So, while adding the caveat of still being an effective player as a condition to his return to the American team, he let managing director Grant Hill know of his intentions.
There was a belief the Paris Games were going to be a last run for Durant, in addition to LeBron James and Stephen Curry. But he debunked that.
“You guys, the media, have projected that,” Durant told ESPN recently. “That narrative, where did the last dance thing come from? I didn’t say I wasn’t playing. LeBron said he wasn’t. You didn’t hear that from me or Steph.”
Curry appears unlikely to play at this point, and James has already said he will not participate.
“Hell yeah, I want to play,” Durant said. “I would love to, but I’ve got to stay on top of my game. I’m not expecting, I want to produce on the floor and make Grant and whoever is making the decisions, want to put me on the team. I don’t want — not just for seniority. I want to still prove I can help the team win.”
“Today, yeah I feel like I’ll put my name in that hat.”
Durant also took issue with the talk about other countries catching up to the U.S., considering an American player hasn’t won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award since 2018 when James Harden earned it.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have won it since, and the United States has had close shaves in international play in recent years, especially in 2024 in Paris.
“I just don’t like the talk around the USA versus European style of how you approach the game,” Durant told ESPN. “All I hear is, ‘AAU is destroying the game; the Euros do it right while the Americans do it wrong.’
“It’s a lot of bulls— with that. I can read between the lines on that. It’s a shot at Black Americans. We’re controlling the sport. They’re tired of us controlling the sport.
“‘France is coming for you.’ Really? We smacked them boys,” he said.
