LeBron James reportedly recruiting Kevin Durant for Olympics; Devin Booker interested
Sep 11, 2023, 8:00 AM | Updated: 8:00 am
Kevin Durant #7 and Devin Booker #15 of Team United States celebrate a play against Spain during the first half of a Men's Basketball Quarterfinal game on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Saitama Super Arena on August 03, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Phoenix Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have shown interest in being on the United States men’s basketball team during 2024 Paris Olympics, according to The Athletic.
Shams Charania and Joe Vardon report that James is ready to commit and has already made what are essentially recruiting calls to Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum and Draymond Green to join him.
Booker is among another group of players whom The Athletic reports have “serious interest” in playing for USA Basketball, which is coming off a fourth-place finish in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
By next summer, James will be 39 years old, while Durant will be 35. The Athletic adds that James and Durant “are viewing the Paris games as a ‘last dance’ with USA Basketball, sources said.”
Durant has been a regular member of the United States national teams over the years, with three Olympics and a 2010 World Cup under his belt.
He was the MVP of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal squad. Durant averaged 20.7 points per game, a United States record for an Olympic run.
That team included Booker, who joined Team USA immediately after the Phoenix Suns lost their NBA Finals appearance against the Milwaukee Bucks.
While Booker’s statistics weren’t attention-grabbing — 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.7 minutes — he got promoted to a starter and swapped into a defense-first role to complement a team filled with capable scorers.
His situation was unique and a reminder that many so-called commitments of star players before the 2023-24 season might not come to be in 10 months, when players are coming off deep NBA postseason runs.
