Kevin Durant denies that other teams are approaching the United States: "This shit is ours"

Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry joined Team USA this summer at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to show the world that the United States remains the best basketball nation. They proved it by remaining undefeated in their quest for the gold medal, defeating nations like Serbia and France, who were considered favorites to surpass them.

Durant appeared on the "Out The Mud" podcast with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, where he extensively discussed why the United States team still leads significantly ahead of the rest of the world in basketball.

"We beat Serbia three times this summer. You know what I'm saying? Like one game. Yes, they'll have a game where they look solid. France beat us once. They beat us last year. But we also beat them for the gold in the previous Olympics. We beat them twice for the gold."

Durant continued, stating that top international players like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic were more influenced by American basketball. He also insisted that basketball belongs to the United States and that a few close games against international teams do not mean a changing of the guard.

"Acknowledging them for playing a close game against us just shows they're not even capable of competing. We created basketball. They are influenced by us. Luka was influenced by Americans. Also Jokic, Toni Kukoc, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker. They are all influenced by Americans. We set the tone."

"Sure, it's nice for people who want to witness history. I was there to see the shift from Americans to Europeans, so people want to change the narrative or overstate it a bit, when in reality, we've been dominating the kids all this time. They're finally closing in on around 20 points, and now you say they're catching up to us."

"This basketball stuff is ours. We created this stuff for real. The best players come from where we come from. We set the standard for what it means to be great in basketball."

Kevin Durant Is Right... to an Extent

Durant is right in the sense that the United States still has the most top players in the world in quantity. There are more top American players than international ones, but the best players in the league are international stars.

The last American MVP was James Harden in 2018, and the last American MVP finalist was Stephen Curry in 2021 (third place). Team USA remains the best, but the best individual players are spread across nations, making it a challenge for a nation to rise and challenge the United States' status.

The 2028 Olympics could bring the French Revolution to Los Angeles, with several lottery-selection national teams from recent seasons coming from France, led by Victor Wembanyama. Besides that, it's hard to argue that any country has a solid enough player pipeline to challenge the collective force of the United States team at the top of the sport when playing with their best players.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Kevin Durant niega que otras selecciones se estén acercando a Estados Unidos: "Esta mierda es nuestra"