Kevin Durant and USA revel in basketball supremacy after exacting revenge over France to take gold

Slovenia will play Australia in the bronze medal match later in the day

“They had some power rankings out,” laughed Kevin Durant, laughing. “They had us fourth…behind Slovenia!”

“Like this not our game?” replied Draymond Green walking alongside him.

“Talking about they catching up to us,” Durant continues. “Like, are you serious? This skill is unmatched, you dig?”

Not every press conference is golden. And to be fair, this was no press conference. Fresh from confirming Team USA’s fourth successive Olympic gold medal, Durant and Green jumped on Instagram live to take a few people down as they walked to the official engagement in front of a room packed full of journalists who had just watched them triumph 87-82 over France.

Those in the line of fire were exclusively those who doubted that the US would do as they should and triumph in the men’s basketball competition. As Durant reiterated when on the record: “A lot of people back home doubted us.” Gregg Popovich couldn’t help himself: “Some of them are in this room!”

Durant, with 29 points added on his lead as Team USA’s most productive Olympic scorer, now has three gold medals. And the glory of his achievement is carried in how much this means to him. Captaincy this last month has been more than a role for the the 32-year-old. It has been treated as a tag to go alongside “two-time NBA Champion”, “future hall-of-famer” and the official unofficial title of “the best shooter in the game”.

He never needs a second invitation to rally against haters in public. But the chat around a disjointed team of superstars, the slowest starters on show and defensive blips was always going to hurt the one who was both the binding agent, standard-setter and main scorer. This wasn’t a triumph against the odds, but rather the doubts.

USA's Draymond Green celebrates with the flag of the USA (AFP)

“It’s like osmosis,” said Popovich of Durant’s influence out in Tokyo. “It goes into all the other players and allows you to develop a camaraderie and an enjoyment to do that together.”

Coming up against France brought with it an opportunity to close a circle and a few mouths. It was an opening 83-76 defeat to the silver-medalists that set the talk in motion back home. America’s basketball spaces were punctuated by the draft, trades and free agency while the projected disappointment of their Olympic team went more back and forth than this game at its loosest.

Durant managed just 10, shooting just four of 12 from the field. But a broader tedium was apparent to those on the outside. And to those within, who set about rectifying it themselves.

A meeting was called, away from Popovich’s eyes and ears to encourage more open talk. “You know when you have a team meeting, you’re kind of at the bottom,” said Durant, now very much at the top.

The difference was distilled in this final. France’s quality has been undoubted, but they were powerless to stop the United States steaming ahead across the second and third quarters. At one point a 14-point lead off the back of turnovers brought about by over-aggressing from those in blue looking to drive and kick wide.

Durant led the USA to gold (AFP)

France stirred, cutting that down to three with just 5-minutes 40-seconds on the clock. They did that by rediscovering their good work from the first-quarter: shifts around the key, along with Rudy Gobert bossing the paint.

But Frank Ntilikina’s three was followed by a two-pointer from Damian Lillard and then an interception from Jrue Holiday suddenly took it back up to seven. Then, a pair of Gobert missed free-throws was compounded by a Jayson Tatum three taking the lead back to 10. With that, the opportunity was gone. Though the back and forth provided opportunities to make this a one-shot game into the death. Team USA never once looked like relinquishing their grip on gold.

Durant had 12 of USA’s 18 points in the first-quarter, and 21 into the second quarter. That he didn’t break 40 was a surprise, let alone 30. But no blight given Tatum pitched in 19 of his own, including three from five beyond the arc.

Gobert, three-time NBA defensive player of the year (including the one just gone), laid out the plan to quell Durant as they did in the opening match. A plan that long been torched.

“We tried to make things tough for him. We tried to make him work as hard as we can. But he’s Kevin Durant. He’s going to hit some shots only he in the world can hit.

“Honestly we tried to attack him and make him commit fouls and stuff. He did at times but, I think he’s the best scorer in basketball and he’s going to do what he does, especially on the biggest stage like an Olympic Games.”

The rest of the basketball resents the assertion that the game is nothing without the United States. And to watch the Olympics is to realise that. The bronze medal match between Slovenia and Australia on Saturday evening is the perfect example of its reach and ability to grab without riding on the fame of the NBA.

It was revealing, then, that Durant lauded the fact that pulling on a USA jersey has allowed him to indulge a side of basketball even he, a global superstar, does not enjoy often.

"We fight so hard to get this gold ball in the NBA, but for us to rise above that and become teammates and brothers for life against the rest of the world, it’s just a huge, huge deal.

“I watch a lot of basketball, I respect a lot of these players in the league. It’s just that brotherhood that we created I enjoy being a part of and a journey of just working every day with these guys.

"It brings me a lot of joy. I really, really enjoy it."

Durant and Green may not think the rest of the world are catching up, certainly not enough to have them worried. But basketball at the Olympics grows with each year of their participation and the rest.

The game at the international level is the freest from the impurities of rumour and idle talk, even though Durant might not totally agree. The league is the lust, but the game is love.