Kevin Durant becomes most decorated men's basketball olympian with 4th gold medal

He’s an NBA champion twice over, a four-time scoring champ, and has been to the all-star game 14 times. And now Kevin Durant is the most decorated Olympic men’s basketball player ever with his four gold medals, as the United States defeated France in the gold medal game on Saturday.

Durant has played a starring role during his time with Team USA, too. He’s the all-time leading scorer in the American basketball program, men’s or women’s, and now can readily stake a claim as the most accomplished Olympic basketball player for the United States in it’s illustrious history.

Durant is now one gold medal ahead of both Carmelo Anthony and his teammate on the 2024 team, LeBron James, who both have a trio of gold medals. He’s won gold at four-consecutive summer Olympic games: 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio, 2020 in Tokyo and 2024 in Paris.

Durant tied for second most points for the United States on Saturday with 15 — Steph Curry continued his supernova form from the semifinals, pouring in 24, all on 3s — adding four rebounds and four assists as the Americans outpaced their hosts.

And it’s perhaps fitting for Durant to take up the mantle of being one of the best to ever do it for the United States in basketball given his take on the nation after the semifinal win.

Either way, with this likely being the last Olympics for Durant, and many of his generation of greats, it’s a fitting send off on his Team USA career.

More on the gold medal win for the United States

Team USA has won a gold medal yet again as it staved off a late comeback effort from France on Saturday win earn a 98-87 victory. It is the fifth straight gold medal for the United States, which has dominated basketball on the international level over the past nearly three decades.

Curry came up in the clutch when his team needed him most, hitting several key 3-pointers down the stretch to pull away. He finished the game 8-of-13 from long range to lead the U.S. with 24 points as he earned his first gold medal. That included a dagger with 1:53 to go to make it a nine-point advantage.

After trailing 49-41 at halftime, France chipped away slightly at the lead to make it 72-66 entering the fourth quarter. Guershon Yabusele and Victor Wembanyama were the two main factors for the French in helping them stay in the game.

Things got off to a tightly contested start as the teams traded buckets early. The USA ended the opening quarter with a small 20-15 lead as James and Devin Booker led the effort for the Americans in the first 10 minutes.

They continued to build their lead in the second half, but France remained within striking distance at halftime as it trailed 49-41. Booker led the U.S. with 13 points at the break while Yabusele had 15 for the French, including a dunk over James.

France was very cold from outside in the first half, connecting on just 3 of 16 shots (18.8%) from beyond-the-arc. USA drilled 9 of 20 shots (45.0%) from downtown in the first half. France had 26 points in the paint in the first half and USA had 20 points in the paint.