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Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant may suit up for Team USA for the first time this summer after being cleared to return from a calf injury that has sidelined him from international play ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Team USA plays South Sudan in an exhibition game on Saturday that tips off at 3 p.m. EST.
A calf strain has held Durant out of all practices this summer, along with Team USA's three exhibition games against Canada, Australia and Serbia. He was cleared to return to practice Friday, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
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Durant is the all time Team USA Olympics leading scorer with 435 points. He's the most decorated player on the team, having won three gold medals and a FIBA World Cup. His 19.8 points per game in a Team USA jersey are also the most in the Olympics. He also took home the 2020 Olympics MVP award.
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In his last season with the Suns, Kevin Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The Suns were quickly swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, though.
Durant could face off against South Sudan, who will play their first Olympics this summer. The South Sudanese squad has been put together by former NBA all-star Luol Deng, who has invested a lot of his own money to help build up the international basketball program in his home country.
South Sudan gained independence as a nation in 2011. According to Deng, there's not one indoor basketball court in the entire country, but he's working on changing that. His team impressed in the Olympic qualifiers in Africa despite being heavy underdogs.
Kevin Durant voices frustration over Nike ad snub
A new Nike advertisement for the Olympics that released Friday morning showcased some of the worlds top basketball talent, including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama.
Kevin Durant took to Instagram to complain over him not being in the advertisement:
"@nike tell me, am I a bad person?" Durant wrote on an Instagram story Friday.
Durant is mocking the Willam Dafoe-voiceover from the Nike ad, which kicks off by asking "am I a bad person," a line from his days as the Green Goblin in the 2002 Spider-Man movie.
It's not clear whether or not Durant was purposely or accidentally left out of the ad, but his comments suggest he wishes he could have had a shot in the commercial.
