The Rio Olympics concluded with a gold medal for Team USA basketball, and Kevin Durant is speaking about how therapeutic of an experience it was for him.
He has had a very tumultuous offseason with his free agency decision. Overnight he has gone from one of the league’s most beloved players to a villain, just because he chose to leave the Thunder and sign with the Warriors.
The negative backlash has really affected Durant, and he said that playing for Team USA was a break for him from all the negative energy thrown his way by certain fans and players.
Once the regular season starts, hopefully Durant treats a pursuit of an NBA championship the same way he did the endeavor for a gold medal.
Team USA went undefeated in Rio to win their third straight gold medal, but they had a handful of tightly contest games throughout the tournament.
That reality didn’t stop USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo for chastising the international basketball community for failing to give Team USA formidable competition.
He believes that in order for basketball to continue growing around the world, countries have to be able to more thoroughly compete with Team USA in international competitions.
Team USA hasn’t lost a game since 2006, and even though numerous superstars turned down an opportunity to play for Team USA in the Rio Olympics, a roster full of alternative options still went undefeated in Olympic play.
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