Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Kevin Durant”

Kevin Durant passes Lisa Leslie as the USA’s All-Time Leading Scorer in the Olympics

August 7, 2024

Kevin Durant is now the all-time highest scorer in United States Olympic basketball history, passing Lisa Leslie’s record of 488 points. Durant’s total Olympic points is 494 points. KD lead Team USA in bagging the gold medal in 2012 London Games, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2020 Tokyo Games. He averages nearly 20.6 points in three Olympics.

This is what KD said regarding the record and emphasis that winning a gold medal in Paris is more important.

Lisa Leslie also gave Durant his flowers for passing her in the USA’s All-Time Leading Scorer list.

Kevin Durant is currently the 8th post for the scoring leading in Olympic basketball history and have a chance to the move to the top 5 of the All-Time Olympics Scorer. Assuming that Team USA will advance to the Gold Medal Game, KD just need to average 18 points for the next two games to over take Argentinian national team legend Manu Ginobili is fifth with 523 points.

The leading All-Time Olympics Scorer is Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt (1,093 points), he did it in 5 Olympic Games.

Team USA steamrolled Brazil to advance to the semifinals of the Men’s Basketball Paris Olympics (122 – 87)

August 7, 2024

Team USA advanced to the semifinals of the Men’s Basketball Paris Olympics after they defeated Brazil in the quarter finals.

The game which was decided by the end of first half after the Americans went on a 15-0 run finishing a dominant second quarter. In the second half, Team USA was never threatened as Brazil’s National Team could not cut the deficit to below 20 points.

Score by Quarter

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr Total
USA 33 30 31 28 122
BRA 21 15 35 16 87

It was a team effort for the Americans, with six players scoring in double digits. Led by Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker with 18 points, Team USA was followed by Anthony Edwards’ 17 points and 5 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 11 points off the bench and passed Lisa Leslie (488) for most points all-time in USA Olympic history.

Game Stats via FIBA

Brazil led by Bruno Caboclo scored 30 points with 6 rebounds, Georginho De Paula added 15 points and 8 rebounds. No other Brazil players scored more than 9 points. Team USA will face Serbia in the semis this Thursday, August 7th.

Team USA Sweeps Group Games after a convincing victory over Puerto Rico (104 – 83)

August 4, 2024

Team USA advances to quarter finals of the men’s 5 x 5 basketball tournament after defeating Puerto Rico in their last group game. The win also earn the USA men’s basketball team the top seed giving them the best possible matchup in the Olympic knockout games.

Six Team USA players scored in double figures lead by Anthony Edwards’ 26 points, Joel Embiid added 15 points and Kevin Durant chipped in 11 points and 4 rebounds. The game was highlighted by Edwards’ windmill jam early in the 4th qtr.

No other Puerto Rico player scored more than 10 points aside from Pelican’s Jose Alvarado with 18 points, Ismael Romero with his 12 points and 10 rebounds. Then Aleem Ford with his 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Team USA will face Brazil in the Quarter finals this 6th of Aug at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France.

Team USA cruises past South Sudan, Qualifies for Quarterfinals (103 – 86)

August 1, 2024

Just like in their first game, Team USA demolishes their opponent showing no signs that they almost lost their exhibition game against the South Sudan Men’s National Basketball Team.

Led by Bam Adebayo’s 25 points and 7 rebounds, with both Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis adding 17 points apiece, the game was decided in the first half. Team USA went on a 25-4 run that started at the 5:30 mark of the 1st quarter, where the Americans trailed by 2 points, and ended at 8:07 of the 2nd quarter (33-14), building a 19-point lead en route to victory.

But the Sudanese stayed on course and was able to cut the 19-point lead to just 10 points in the 3rd period, thanks to the hot shooting of Nuni Omot (24 points) and Bul Kuol (16), both players made a combined 7 three-point shot out of the 10 that they shot. Aside from Omot and Kuol, South Sudan also got a lot of help from Carlik Jones, scoring 18 points and dishing out 7 assists.

Team USA will play against Puerto Rico, their last opponent for the group games, while South Sudan will face Serbia.

Team USA Routs Serbia Behind Durant’s Near-Perfect Game (110-84)

July 29, 2024

Team USA routed Serbia in their first group game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kevin Durant delivered a near-flawless performance with 23 points, shooting 8-of-9 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. LeBron James added 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists.

It was a basketball clinic by the Americans, firing on all cylinders. Offensively, they shot 62% from the field, made more than half of their 3-point attempts, and tallied 24 assists. On the defensive end, Team USA recorded 3 blocks, 9 steals, and 39 rebounds. The team also forced Serbia into 13 turnovers, converting 25 points from those turnovers.

Nikola Jokic led Serbia with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 14 points and 6 rebounds. Serbia kept the game close in the first half, but the Americans pulled away when Serbia’s outside shooting cooled down. They made only 9 of their 37 attempts from beyond the arc.

Team USA will have a rematch with South Sudan, while Serbia will face Puerto Rico on July 31st.

USA Basketball officially announced the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team

April 23, 2024

The USA Basketball has officially announced the 12-man roster of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team for this year’s Summer Olympic bound for Paris. The team was selected by USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director Grant Hill and approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

  1. Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)
  2. LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
  3. Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
  4. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
  5. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
  6. Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
  7. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
  8. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
  9. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
  10. Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics)
  11. Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers)
  12. Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

The 2024 USA Men’s National Team will be led by head coach Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), who is assisted by Mark Few (Gonzaga University), Tyronn Lue (L.A. Clippers) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat). Last summer, the quartet coached the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup in Manila.

The team boasts of 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions, as for their international experience, the team brings a combined 11 Olympic appearances and owns 10 Olympic gold medals as well as three FIBA World Cup titles. Talent-wise, we can say that the 2024 Dream team can be compared to the 1992 Dream Team, as for their performance, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

If you want to see the team in action, USA Basketball will commence training camp on July 6 in Las Vegas. Following the game vs. Canada, the Americans will embark on an international training window that begins when the USA hosts Australia and Serbia on July 15 and 17, respectively, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Australia and Serbia will also face off on July 18 in Abu Dhabi.

Source: USA Basketball

Suns defeats Warriors behind Durant and Booker (123 – 115)

November 23, 2023

After winning their last game, Warriors got another loss from the Phoenix Suns lead by Kevin Durant, who scored a game high of 32 points with 8 rebs and 2 assists.

Warriors initially finished the 1 qtr with a 5 point lead but the Suns practically ended the game with a 37 – 16 run in the 2nd quarter. The Suns biggest lead was 23 points with just 7 mins remaining in the qtr. On the last 23 seconds of the 2nd qtr, Warriors received a total of 3 consecutive technical fouls from referee Scott Foster; a quick 2 by Chris Paul, after arguing about a foul he committed on Durant, this got Paul ejected from the game, then another technical foul on Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr for shouting at Foster after Paul’s ejection.

The Warriors tried to make a run in the 3rd qtr but ended up where they were in the 1st half, trailing by 16 points.

In the 4th Qtr, Warriors starter made another run but it made little to no difference, since all of the Warriors starters had a negative impact on the game. This is when things got interesting, with just 6 mins left in the game, Steve Kerr removed all his starters then put the Warriors’ bench; Saric, Kuminga, T. Jackson, C. Joseph and Brandin Podziemski. Warriors’ bench went on a 14 to 4 run, cutting the lead to a single digit on a Cory Joseph 8-foot pullup jump shot.

Golden State were able to cut the lead to just 6 points with enough time to steal the game but the Suns was able to hold on to their lead even after a Podziemski 3-point play that cut their lead to just 4 points. Steve Kerr later explained why he left the bench team remained and finished the game;

Aside from Durant, Booker had a double-double game with his 25 pts and 10 assists. Eric Gordon chipped-in 13 pts, 4 assists and 3 steals.

For the Warriors, this was Klay Thompson’s second game scoring a team high of 23 points but a liability no defence, while Curry who have been the bright spot for the Warriors was a non-factor in this game even though he had 16 points, he was 1-of-8 from the 3-point line and just 6-of-15 from the field.

The only Warriors take away from this game is that if needed their bench team can be a big help, specially when (and if) they reach the play-offs.

Warriors next game will be against the San Antonio Spurs, while the Suns will face the Memphis Grizzlies both games will be this Saturday, Nov. 25th.

Washington Superstar Bradley Beal headed to Phoenix Suns

June 19, 2023

Just barely into the offseason and just 3 days before the NBA Draft, we now have a blockbuster trade that will bring Wizard Superstar Bradley Beal going to Phoenix Suns, with guard Jordan Goodwin. Suns in turn will send Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, multiple second-round picks and pick swaps to Wizards.

The deal became possible after Beal waived his “no-trade” clause in his contract. This was reported by ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal will take a few of days to be finalized.

The trade will form another Durant-lead “Super team” with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, with Deandre Ayton as the Suns top players. The trade will definitely affect the depth of the team which was diminished when the Suns traded for Durant last season.

Source: NBA

Embiid, Markkanen and Morant named as All-Star Starters replacements for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game

February 11, 2023

Here are some good news and bad news, well I guess that will depend on the player you’re rooting for. Good news for fans of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, since all three All Star will move-up to be starters replacing injured and starters Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left superior tib/fib sprain), Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (strained right hamstring), which is a bad new for the fans of the said injured players.

At the sametime, 3 new All Star Reserves was named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game namely; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.

NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

The NBA All-Star Draft will take place hours before the game where Captains for each team will choose from the player pool to complete their team roster. For this year’s All Star Games Lebron James, of the LA Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks are named as the Team Captains.

Below are the complete list of player pool including the Injured/Will Not Play, as well as the replacements;

  • Bam Adebayo (Miami)
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) – Starter and Team Captain
  • Jaylen Brown (Boston)
  • Stephen Curry (Golden State) – Starter, Injured and will not play
  • DeMar DeRozan (Chicago)
  • Luka Dončić (Dallas)
  • Kevin Durant (Phoenix) – Starter, Injured and will not play
  • Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) – Injury Replacement
  • Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) – Starter Replacement
  • De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento) – Injury Replacement
  • Paul George (LA Clippers)
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)
  • Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana)
  • Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee)
  • Kyrie Irving (Dallas) – Starter
  • Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis)
  • LeBron James (L.A. Lakers) – Starter and Team Captain
  • Nikola Jokić (Denver) – Starter
  • Damian Lillard (Portland)
  • Lauri Markkanen (Utah) – Starter Replacement
  • Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) – Starter
  • Ja Morant (Memphis) – Starter Replacement
  • Julius Randle (New York)
  • Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento)
  • Pascal Siakam (Toronto) – Injury Replacement
  • Jayson Tatum (Boston) – Starter
  • Zion Williamson (New Orleans) – Starter, Injured and will not play

Source: NBA

Nets to trade Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns

February 9, 2023

In a blockbuster trade, the Brooklyn Nets will ship Superstar Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, this was first reported by ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. In the trade, Suns will send Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round unprotected picks (2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029) and a 2028 pick swap to Brooklyn. The Nets on the otherhand will send Kevin Durant and TJ Warren and the 2028 pick swap to Suns.

New Phoenix Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia pushed to get a deal done on the eve of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Durant, 34, still have three years and $153 million left on his contract, originally requested to be traded last Summer but Nets where unable to find any suitors. Last week, this Allstar teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, and a clear sign that Durant will be the next star to leave the Brooklyn franchise.

Source: ESPN

Here’s the result of the NBA 2022 All-Star Draft

February 13, 2022

All-Star captains LeBron James and Kevin Durant just drafted their respective starters and reserves for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland. There were a number of awkward moment, especially the 2022 All-Star Draft happened right after the trade deadline and specially at the end where Kevin Durant choose Rudy Gobert over James Harden, who was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Kevin Durant and former-teammate Draymond Green, where named All Star but will be unable to play because of injury. They will be replaced by Jason Tatum (Celtics) and Dejounte Murray (Spurs), respectively.

Team LeBron


Starters:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
  • DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
  • LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (captain)
  • Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Reserves:

  • Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
  • Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
  • Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
  • Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns
  • Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors

Team Durant


Starters:

  • ** Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets (captain)
  • Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
  • Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
  • Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
  • Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors
  • Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

    • ** = injured

Reserves:

  • LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
  • Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
  • Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
  • Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
  • Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs
  • Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
  • ** Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

    • ** = injured

The matchup between Team LeBron and Team Durant in the 71st NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, airing live at 8 p.m.

NBA announces 2022 All-Star Game starters

January 29, 2022

NBA has officially announced the starters for the coming 2022 NBA All-Star which will be held in Cleveland this February 20, 2022.

2022 NBA All-Star: Western Conference starters

Lebron James will be the All-Star Game captain, with first-time All starts Ja Morant and Andrew Wiggins. The reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry to complete the roster for the Western Conference starters.

2022 NBA All-Star: Eastern Conference starters

As for the Eastern Conference, Nets’ Kevin Durant, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid are named Easter frontcourt, with Atlanta’s Trae Young and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan.

2022 NBA All-Star: Western Conference starters

  • LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) – Captain (18th All-Star)
  • Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) – 4th All-Star
  • Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors) – 1st All-Star
  • Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) – 8th All-Star
  • Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies) – 1st All-Star

2022 NBA All-Star: Eastern Conference starters

  • Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) – Captain (12th All-Star)
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) – 6th All-Star
  • Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) – 5th All-Star
  • Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) – 2nd All-Star
  • DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls) – 5th All-Star

The NBA-All Star draft will take place in February 10, 2022, where the respective captains of each conference will choose their starters.

NBA announces key matchup and dates for it’s 75th Anniversary (2021-22) Season

August 18, 2021

NBA just release the games for the first 4 days of the season and the Christmas day match-up, which will surely hyped-up even the most casual fan.

The nationally televised games will be on TNT, ESPN and ABC for opening week and Christmas Day for its landmark 75th Anniversary Season. It’s also worth noting that the there will be a Play-In Tournament that will be held on April 12-15.

In the announcement, NBA said;

The first four days of the league’s 75th Anniversary Season (Oct. 19-22) will feature eight national television games as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2021, with TNT and ESPN airing two doubleheaders each. Those games will showcase 12 different teams, the last eight players to win the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award and three rematches from last season’s playoffs.

October 19, 2021

  • Brooklyn Nets @Milwaukee Bucks – 7:30 p.m.,,, on TNT
  • Golden State Warriors @Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 p.m.,,, on TNT

October 20, 2021

  • Boston Celtics @New York Knicks – 7:30 p.m., on ESPN
  • Denver Nuggets @Phoenix Suns – 10:00 p.m., on ESPN

October 21, 2021

  • Dallas Mavericks @Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 p.m., on TNT
  • LA Clippers @Golden State Warriors – 10:00 p.m., on TNT

October 22, 2021

  • Brooklyn Nets @Philadelphia 76ers – 7:30 p.m., on ESPN
  • Phoenix Suns @Los Angeles Lakers – 10:00 p.m., on ESPN

As for the Christmas day games, NBA will feature arguably the top teams in both conference but the key matchup for the Christmas day games is the Brooklyn Nets visiting Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant versus Lebron James. Stephen A.’s reaction probably summed up all our excitement for the upcoming NBA season.

Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 2021)

  • Atlanta Hawks @New York Knicks – 12:00 p.m., on ESPN
  • Boston Celtics @Milwaukee Bucks – 2:30 p.m., on ABC
  • Golden State Warriors @Phoenix Suns – 5:00 p.m., on ABC
  • Brooklyn Nets @Los Angeles Lakers – 8:00 p.m., on ABC/ESPN
  • Dallas Mavericks @Utah Jazz – 10:30 p.m., on ESPN

Nike officially unveil KD14, Kevin Durant’s latest signature shoes

April 11, 2021

Nike has officially unveil Kevin Durant’s latest signature shoes, the KD14. In their official announcement, Nike reintroduces the strap to the KD14, which was first used in KD7.

“It’s been a while since we incorporated the strap, which excites me,” says Durant. “My other favorite part about the shoe is the cushioning, which helps me feel low to the ground and still helps give me some of that energy back.”

The strap itself is a familiar sight, but the build is rich with Nike heritage. The design of the simplified one-piece midfoot strap, especially on the medial side, was inspired by the Nike Air Presto. The thin, elongated Swoosh is a nod to the original Bruin model. The engineered mesh upper means that graphics can be uniquely layered for detailed colorway options, covering topics like art, music and more.

The KD14 became available globally on April 10, 2021 and it will be available in Black/White colorway with an estimated price of $150 (around Php 7,500.00). The KD14 Cyber colorway will be available this April 11 in Greater China only.

Durant wore the KD14 during the Nets – Lakers game last Saturday.