LeBron James made his Olympic return after a 12-year absence. Kevin Durant played for the first time this summer. And the two most-experienced Olympians on this U.S. team opened the Paris Games — not to mention a bid for a fifth consecutive gold medal for the Americans — with a near-perfect show.
LeBron James, right, of the United States, celebrates with Jrue Holiday , of the United States, after scoring in a men’s basketball game against Serbia at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. Kevin Durant , right, of the United States, passes the ball as he heads out of bounds while under pressure from Marko Guduric, of Serbia , in a men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.
James and Durant were a combined 18 for 22 from the field — 8 of 9 for Durant, 9 of 13 for James — as the U.S. had no trouble with the reigning World Cup silver medalists from last summer in the Philippines. Jrue Holiday scored 15, Devin Booker had 12 and Anthony Edwards and Stephen Curry each added 11 for the U.S.
“I went with the combinations that I felt like would make sense,” Kerr said. “I talked to him and he’s incredibly professional. And that’s tonight. It doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way the rest of the tournament. He’ll make his mark. Our guys know this: The key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rear-view mirror and just win six games. Jayson’s the ultimate pro, a champion, he handled it well and he’ll be ready for the next one.
Before the tournament started, Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic — who coached against the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” from the U.S. — said this version of the American squad was even better than that first NBA-star-filled bunch that took the world by storm at the Barcelona Games. And when told of that comment a couple of weeks back, Kerr laughed it off.It took all of 2 minutes, 41 seconds of these Olympics for Kerr to call one.
Lebron James Kevin Durant Devin Booker Anthony Edwards Boston Celtics Stephen Curry Sports Steve Kerr Jrue Holiday Serbia S Jayson Tatum
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