Kevin Durant suffers minor calf injury, sidelined to start Team USA training camp, per report

Team USA basketball was dealt some concerning news to start training camp on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Durant, the USA men’s leading scorer in Olympic history, has a minor calf strain and is sidelined to start training camp in Las Vegas. The move is out of precaution, according to Joe Vardon and Shams Charania.

Durant leads all point scorers in USA men’s basketball history (435), but he has not practiced in either of the first two sessions for Team USA this weekend. It’s a precautionary approach with Durant even though the injury is not considered to be serious.

Team USA opens up exhibition play against Canada on Wednesday, and Durant’s status for that game is up in the air. It’s important to note there are still three full weeks until Team USA plays in their first game in the Olympics, when the Americans will take on Serbia on July 28th in Lille, France.

Durant is a three-time gold medalist with Team USA, leading the team to the coveted prize in 2012, 2016, and 2020. He earned the Most Valuable Player honors in 2020 and deservedly so. Those Olympics were pushed back due to COVID-19, and Durant played in them without LeBron James on the USA roster. He carried the Americans to a gold medal, averaging 20.7 points per game, setting the U.S. Olympic men’s single-competition record for points averaged. Durant also tied Carmelo Anthony for the most Olympic gold medals (three).

In his team’s run to gold in Tokyo in 2021, Durant played his best on the biggest stages. In the quarterfinals against Spain, he dropped 29 points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block. In the semifinals against Australia, the former Longhorn stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals. And in the gold medal game against France, Durant played his best when the Americans absolutely needed it the most, stuffing the stat sheet with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one block. There’s no question that without him, USA likely doesn’t come away with a win.

It was one of the more impressive accomplishments of his career. He singlehandedly willed the Americans to an 87-82 victory over the French. That performance won’t soon be forgotten. And American fans are hoping he’s got one last impressive showing in the tank.