It was revealed today that Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will both miss the 2016 Olympics. Also in that group of players who will sit out this Summer due to injury are Washington Wizards point guard John Wall, Los Angeles Clippers point guard and power forward Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.
Oklahoma Thunder forward Kevin Durant reportedly remains undeterred, and plans to play. From ESPN’s Marc Stein:
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, meanwhile, tells ESPN's @RoyceYoung he is indeed still planning to play for Team USA this summer in Brazil.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 6, 2016
This is great news for Team USA, as Kevin Durant is one of the most important players for the team. This postseason, particularly early on in the Warriors series, Durant was playing the best defense of his career. Combine that with his historically elite offense, and you have perhaps the best player in the world. It cannot be overstated how huge Durant’s presence will be for Team USA.
This season for the Thunder, Durant averaged 28.3 points(the second-highest mark of his career), a career-high 8.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. Durant shot 50.5% from the field, 38.6% from the field, and 89.8% from the free throw line.
UPDATE (6/20/16):
Durant has confirmed at an event for his new Nike KD9 shoe that he will play in the 2016 Olympic games in Rio, courtesy of Anthony V Slater of the Oklahoman.
“I’m excited about it, I’m looking forward to it…You know, the Olympics was an experience that — it doesn’t come around every year, as we know, and it’s like, not all NBA players can play on it, you know? And to pick, to hand-pick the best 12 guys in the world, in the NBA at this point, and to put ’em on that team, that’s an accomplishment in itself. So I’m excited about the opportunity, looking forward to seeing who else is going to be on the team and we’ll go from there, man. I’m looking forward to training camp and we’re just going to try to bring the gold back home.”
