Kevin Durant named to U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Former University of Texas standout Kevin Durant has been named to the 12-man 2020 United States Olympic Men's Basketball team roster, USA Basketball announced Monday. The roster was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors and is pending final approval by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

Durant will make his third consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games, after leading the United States to gold medals in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. He is the fourth player in Texas Men's Basketball history to compete in the Olympics but will become the first to make three appearances at the Games. Albert Almanza represented Mexico in 1960 and 1964.

With his selection to the U.S. Olympic Team, Durant becomes just the fourth United States male basketball player selected to three or more Olympic teams. Carmelo Anthony (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) has represented and medaled for a USA men's record four Olympics, while LeBron James (2004, 2008, 2012) and David Robinson (1988, 1992, 1996) each have three Olympic medals in as many appearances. Durant has 16 career Olympic games under his belt and with 311 total points in Olympic games (19.4 ppg), he ranks second all-time for points scored, trailing only Anthony (336) by 25 points.

In USA all-time career Olympic statistics, Durant ranks first in points per game (19.4 ppg), tied for fourth in games played (16), fifth for rebounds (86), third for most field goals made (101), third for field goals attempted (191), first for three-point field goals made (59), second for three-point field goals attempted (108), fourth for three-point field goal percentage (54.6), second for free throws made (50), fourth for free throws attempted (59), 11th for assists (49), eighth for blocked shots (9) and ninth for steals (21).

During the eight games at the 2012 Olympics, Durant led Team USA in scoring (19.5 ppg) and ranked second in rebounding (5.8 rpg) while averaging 26.0 minutes per contest. His 30 points in the Gold Medal game win against Spain tied for the third-highest single-game total in U.S. Olympic history, and his 156 total points during the tournament set a record for most points scored by an American player in Olympic competition (previous: 145 by Spencer Haywood in 1968).

Four years later in Rio, Durant led Team USA in scoring (19.4 ppg) and minutes (28.6 mpg) and ranked second in steals (8), third in assists (28) and fourth in rebounding (5.0 rpg). He reached double figures in scoring in all eight contests and tied his Olympic career high with 30 points in the Gold Medal game victory against Serbia.

After opening training camp on July 6, the USA Men's National Team will play a five-game exhibition series against Nigeria on July 10 (7 pm Central), Australia on July 12 (7 pm Central), Argentina on July 13 (5 pm Central), Australia on July 16 (5 pm Central) and Spain on July 18 (8 pm Central). All five exhibition games will be played at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. Ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.

The U.S. men have collected a medal in all 18 Olympics in which they have competed, including 15 gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. The American men own an impressive 138-5 (.965) all-time record in Olympic action. The USA currently enjoys a 25-game Olympic win streak that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The rescheduled Summer Olympic Games are being held July 23-Aug. 8 in Tokyo, Japan. Twelve nations will compete in the Olympic men's basketball competition that will be held at the Saitama Super Arena. In addition to host Japan, nations qualified for the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball competition include Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and the United States. The final four teams for the Tokyo Olympics will qualify through four FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Men's basketball preliminary play at the Olympics, which will see the 12 teams divided into groups of four teams each, will be held July 25-Aug. 2. The quarterfinals, featuring teams placed first and second in each preliminary group and the two best third-placed teams, is scheduled for Aug. 3. Semifinal action will be played on Aug. 5. The gold medal and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 7.

Gilbert "Gib" Ford, a three-year letterwinner at Texas (1952-54) earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 1956 Melbourne Games. Ford, who had finished his playing career at UT in 1954, was 25 at the time of the Olympics and enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces. Ford played in all eight games and averaged 4.9 points per contest, as the Americans went 8-0 in Melbourne and posted a +53.5 points per game margin of victory en route to the gold medal.

A three-year letterwinner for the Longhorns (1958-60) who garnered All-America honors as a senior, Jay Arnette earned a gold medal with Team USA at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Arnette, who had just completed his collegiate ability, played in all eight games and averaged 2.9 points per contest. The U.S. squad went 8-0 mark in Rome and recorded a +42.4 points per game margin of victory en route to the gold medal.

Almanza, a three-year letterwinner at Texas (1959-61), was a two-time member of the Mexican Olympic team. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Almanza served as a co-captain and led the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) while helping Mexico to a 4-4 record and a 12^th-place finish. He returned for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and again led the squad in scoring (14.7 ppg) while helping Mexico to a 3-6 mark and a 12^th-place finish.

2020 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team Roster

Name	Position	Current Team/College or HS
Bam Adebayo	C	Miami Heat / Kentucky
Bradley Beal	G	Washington Wizards / Florida
Devin Booker	G	Phoenix Suns / Kentucky
Kevin Durant	G	Brooklyn Nets / TEXAS
Jerami Grant	F	Detroit Pistons / Syracuse
Draymond Green	F	Golden State Warriors / Michigan State
Jrue Holiday	G	Milwaukee Bucks / UCLA
Zach LaVine	G	Chicago Bulls / UCLA
Damian Lillard	G	Portland Trail Blazers / Weber State
Kevin Love	F	Cleveland Cavaliers / UCLA
Khris Middleton	G/F	Milwaukee Bucks / Texas A&M
Jayson Tatum	F	Boston Celtics / Duke

Texas Men's Basketball Players who have Participated in the Olympic Games

Year (Site)	Player	Country	Team Result
1956 (Melbourne)	Gib Ford	United States	Gold Medal
1960 (Rome)	Jay Arnette	United States	Gold Medal
1960 (Rome)	Albert Almanza	Mexico	12^th Place
1964 (Tokyo)	Albert Almanza	Mexico	12^th Place
2012 (London)	Kevin Durant	United States	Gold Medal
2016 (Rio)	Kevin Durant	United States	Gold Medal

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics

Kevin Durant named to U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team

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