Kevin Durant All-In For Olympics Despite Impending Free Agency

Kevin Durant is set to become the star of this summer’s NBA free agency class. With that kind of important professional decision looming – and the fact that he already won gold at the 2012 London games – many expected him to opt-out of participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Durant shut all of that speculation down on Monday, committing to Team USA for the summer.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, meanwhile, tells ESPN's @RoyceYoung he is indeed still planning to play for Team USA this summer in Brazil.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 6, 2016

Durant led Team USA with 19.5 points per game during the 2012 Olympics and trailed only Australia’s Patty Mills (21.2 ppg) to be the leading scorer in the tournament. He and LeBron James landed on the tournament’s first team along with Manu Ginobili, Andrei Kirilenko and Pau Gasol.

With Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge all opting out of the Olympics, Durant’s decision to play is huge for the Americans. The world has long been catching up to the United States in basketball, and losing so much talent is sure to level the playing field.

Durant could wind up being the leader of the team since LeBron James may also opt out. It’s a chance for him to prove he can win a championship as an alpha dog and maybe use a gold medal to build towards an NBA title with whichever team he winds up on next year.