Durant is just an out-of-this-world talent – LeBron James showers praise on the veteran after USA comprehensive win against Serbia

USA kicked off their Paris Olympics 2024 campaign on a high with a 110-84 victory over Nikola Jokic’s Serbia on Sunday. The US dominated the game from the get-go and never let Serbia settle. 

Kevin Durant, who returned to action after missing the pre-Games friendlies due to a calf injury, was able to hit the ground running, nailing his first eight shots, five of them 3-pointers, in a 23-point masterpiece in just 17 dazzling minutes.

“I’ve been playing ball my whole life, so I simplified it,” said Durant, who played his first 5-on-5 since April. “And when the ball touched my hand, it was be aggressive.”

Durant was the fifth player head coach Steve Kerr decided to put in from the bench and the veteran didn’t disappoint.

“When he comes back from a long absence, you don’t notice it,” Kerr said. “I mean, he is so skilled and he just looked like he was in midseason form after not playing in a real basketball game for a couple of months. Pretty incredible.”

In the closing seconds of the first half, LeBron James gave a quick assist to Kevin Durant, who made a successful jump shot.

“We’d never even ran that play before,” James said, noting Kerr diagramed it moments before in a timeout. “I mean [Durant] is just an out-of-this-world talent.”

On the other hand, LeBron James came up with a solid performance, scoring 21 points, and finished with nine assists and six rebounds.

“LeBron puts his imprint on the game in so many different ways,” Kerr said. “It’s not just his skill and his strength and his size, but it’s his emotion, his confidence. Just the way he infuses our team with energy and confidence at 39 is just amazing.”

Said Durant: “I’m so grateful to have him back. We missed him the last two Olympics. He puts fear in the other team. I think that goes a long way.”

USA will next take on South Sudan in Group C.