Kevin Durant is now the all-time leading scorer in the history of Team USA Olympic basketball, surpassing Carmelo Anthony’s mark.
There’s a new all-time leading scorer for the US men’s national basketball team at the Olympics.
Kevin Durant dropped 23 points against the Czech Republic in the final game of group play at the 2021 Summer Olympics, allowing him to pass Carmelo Anthony’s record of 336 points for Team USA.
A 3-pointer in the second quarter got it done.
Along with breaking the record, that triple put the U.S. men ahead of the Czech Republic in the second quarter.
Anthony can take heart in still leading Durant in career NBA points. He’s at 27,370, while Durant still has some work to do with 23,883.
Kevin Durant broke a record and powered Team USA to victory
Durant had 8 rebounds and 6 assists to go along with his 23 points in the game on Friday. His scoring was bested only by Jayson Tatum, who put up 27 points in 24 minutes of action.
Team USA went on to rout their opponents, 119-84, in a sign they’re finding their groove at just the right time.
Durant hadn’t really made his mark on the tournament before coming through big in the third game. The Americans lost their opening game to France with Durant shooting 4-of-12 for just 10 points. He had 10 again in a rebound blowout victory over Iran in the second game.
If Durant puts in more performances like the one he had against the Czech Republic, he’ll be well on his way to securing a third Olympic gold medal.
He’ll have a chance to extend his lead at the top of the Team USA scoring charts as well. Behind Anthony, LeBron James is third with 273 points, but his Olympic career is over. David Robinson and Michael Jordan finished their national careers with 270 and 256 points, respectively.