Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant is one of the most decorated U.S. Olympians. He won two gold medals in 2012 and 2016, but still believes he should have been selected for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
Team USA’s leading scorer on each Olympic team:
2016 – Kevin Durant – 19.4 PPG
2012 – Kevin Durant – 19.5 PPG
2008 – Dwyane Wade – 16.0 PPG
2004 – Allen Iverson – 13.8 PPG
2000 – Vince Carter – 14.8 PPG
1996 – Charles Barkley – 12.4 PPG
1992 – Charles Barkley – 18.0 PPG— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 30, 2019
Only a 19-year-old at the time, Durant was the final cut from Team USA’s roster in 2008, and he’s still upset he didn’t get a chance to play.
“I was disappointed not making the [2008] Olympic team. I felt I played my way onto the team,” Durant said. Nobody really expected me to play that well in the practices, but I was 19 and I felt like I got snubbed. I felt disrespected, and I was like, ‘Nah, this can’t go down like that. It’s not happening again.’ I was just so upset that I wasn’t part of the Redeem Team. You could tell those guys had so much fun playing with each other and I wanted that even if I was on the bench. I just wanted to learn, soak that energy up from those guys.”
Durant was Rookie of the Year after a fantastic season with the Seattle Supersonics in which he averaged over 20 points. However, Team USA already had LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade on the roster. They needed more perimeter shooters, so the likes of Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince got a chance ahead of Durant.
Team USA failed to get a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and assembled the “Redeem Team” to return to the winning ways, which they did. In 2012 though, they didn’t snub the most exciting young player – Anthony Davis, who was included on the roster without playing a single game in the NBA. Also, it is expected that the current top prospect, Zion Williamson, will be included on the roster for the 2020 Olympics.
H/T: CBS Sports
