Suns Star 'Lock' to Start for Team USA

Kevin Durant will surely be starting for Team USA in the Olympics.

Apr 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) dunks against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns will see two of their own represent Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker donning the red, white and blue.

Even as the rest of the world catches up to the states in terms of talent, Team USA approaches this summer as favorites to again take home gold, and names such as Booker/Durant should very well play a role in making that happen.

With a massively talented roster from top to bottom, there's been a lot of discussion of who will start, what the rotations will look like, etc.

While there's speculation LeBron James could come off the bench, The Athletic believes Durant is one of three "locks" to be a starter alongside Steph Curry and Joel Embiid.

"The third lock to start is Kevin Durant, who is 6-11, an outrageously versatile two-way player, and the greatest clutch player in USA Basketball history. No one has delivered more, and more often, with a gold medal on the line than Durant, who, in four gold-medal contests (three at the Olympics and another at the FIBA World Cup), is averaging 29.5 points," wrote Joe Vardon.

"Beyond that, Durant is the most prolific scorer in U.S. men’s history, with 640 points overall (Olympics and FIBA)."

Even coach Steve Kerr understands assembling the lineup will be tough.

“It’s a great question,” Kerr said.

“My staff and I have talked about it quite a bit, it’s a good problem to have, but I think I’m guessing that all 12 players on this roster will be in the Hall of Fame someday. So how do you pick five out of 12? The idea is you find combinations that click and you find two-way lineups that can be effective at both ends. So our big job in Las Vegas is to find five-man combinations that fit and to just ask all 12 guys to fully commit to the goal of winning a gold medal no matter what it looks like, no matter who’s playing.”

Durant and Booker will get to work beginning Saturday, July 6, when Team USA starts training camp in Las Vegas.