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Kevin Durant and Devin Booker make their mark on and off the court at the Olympic Games in Paris

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker make their mark on and off the court at the Olympic Games in Paris
Posted on | Posted on Theodore

Phoenix’s influence on the 2024 Olympics began with Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper of the Mercury and Devin Booker and Kevin Durant of the Suns sending the USA to Paris.

While the women move into the gold medal game after their 60th consecutive win, the men aim for the championship after overcoming a 17-point deficit against Serbia in an instant classic.

“This is the best game I’ve ever played,” Durant said. “How can you not celebrate a win like this? … This is what this is about. This is how we all come together on the other side of the world … It was special … We have to celebrate the little moments too. Everyone here is going to remember this night for the rest of their lives.”

Five MVPs on the court battling to take another step toward Olympic immortality. As Durant said… how can you not celebrate?

After Team USA came closer and closer in the third quarter, it all came together in the fourth quarter – a 10-minute sprint in FIBA.

“It was a sequence of plays that built confidence and momentum,” Stephen Curry said. “You understood the moment and the stakes and the awkward nature of being behind for so long and having 10 minutes to catch up.”

In the final period, the USA was down by 11 points with 7:21 minutes left, but then the Americans went on a run that can only be described as basketball poetry.

An and-one three-pointer from Durant, followed by a three-pointer from Devin Booker to force a timeout.

“When Devin Booker hit the three-pointer at the free throw line, I felt the momentum shift and from there we capitalized on it,” Curry said. “It seemed like everyone made the shot they needed and we got the stops we needed.”

Durant with elbow jumper. Joel Embiid with pullup jumper. Embiid with and-one. Durat snatches a rebound from Nikola Milutinov. Embiid with stepback jumper. LeBron’s difficult layup to tie. Curry’s three-pointer to take the lead. LeBron’s transition layup to make it 3-0. Curry’s steal and basket. Don’t look now – Americans lead 5-0 with 1:41 left.

And then it was the Slim Reaper who buried her, which felt like the nail in the coffin.

Durant called his own number when he realized Bogdan Bogdanović was guarding him. Bogdanović had been talking trash all game – he used US star Carmelo Anthony’s signature three-to-the-dome celebration and stared Anthony down. LeBron, Durant and the boys didn’t take this lightly. Neither did Melo, who encouraged Durant to attack Bogdanović.

Durant called the iso, left Bogdanović in the dust with a nasty crossover and sank the jumper. Booker later tagged Anthony in an Instagram story mimicking Melo’s celebration: “Respect the legends,” he wrote.

Aside from allowing too many offensive rebounds, they were nearly perfect down the stretch, and that’s how it had to be.

At the Olympic Games, where so much basketball history is being made and where Durant has, among other things, overtaken Lisa Leslie as the best basketball player of all time in the USA, no one here would be celebrating a bronze medal.

To get the job done, they need stars to fill their roles. Even someone as talented as Jayson Tatum hasn’t quite found his place in the rotation yet, unlike Booker, who absolutely shone on both ends of the court for the second year in a row at the Olympics.

“I want to tell you who was an unsung hero throughout the tournament — that was Devin Booker,” said Kendrick Perkins. “Devin Booker was phenomenal. Devin Booker was in the game yesterday when it mattered most. He played his role perfectly. He slid, got over the screens, held his corners, played the field wide and did everything he needed to do to shine in his role and help his team win.”

Booker is also the secret hero off the court and gives us plenty of behind-the-scenes insights with his video camera:

Thanks to Booker, we get an authentic insight into the Olympic Games from an athlete’s perspective.

Not to mention that he gave a random basketball fan in Paris who was wearing his cool jersey a new pair of his books 1:

Combine that with the extensive basketball debates between Durant and his fans at X, and the two are two of the most entertaining players ever.

How rare is it that there is a basketball legend who is truly willing to talk about the game and, yes, to honestly say how he feels about you, the fans.

This is the same guy who was in the debate at X Spaces about whether he was in the top five or not. I listened to him the whole time – he was curious, respectful, informative and tried to have a real conversation – even when others weren’t.

He’s not the only player who feels this way – he’s just one of the few guys in league history willing to talk honestly about anything – good or bad.

There is a lot more good going on right now, with the men’s team eyeing their fifth consecutive gold medal and the women aiming for their eighth consecutive gold medal.

“Hopefully when we have a gold medal around our necks tomorrow and we win, we can think back on all of this,” Curry said.

The men will face France on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (MST), while the women will face France on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. (MST).

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