Kevin Durant injury will keep him sidelined for Team USA vs. Canada, but star hopes to play next week
Kevin Durant will miss Team USA’s exhibition game against Canada in Las Vegas on Wednesday because of a strained left calf. Since training camp for the 2024 Olympics opened on Saturday, Durant has been held out of all the scrimmages and full-contact portions of practice, including Tuesday’s walkthrough. USA Basketball maintains, however, that this is only a minor injury. On Sunday, Team USA coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Durant was sidelined “out of an abundance of caution,” via the Washington Post’s Ben Golliver.
Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Durant told reporters Tuesday that he wants to play next week in Abu Dhabi, the team’s next stop as it prepares for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He said that he hurt his calf about 10 days before camp started.
Durant is “already doing plenty of things on the side,” Kerr told reporters Tuesday, via USA Basketball’s Mike Hall. “So not with the team yet, but strengthening, treatment. He said he’s feeling pretty good. and [we’ll] just keep taking it day by day and it won’t be long before he’s out on the court with us, and we’ll just give you updates as we get them.”
Wednesday’s game against Canada is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena. After that, Team USA will play tune-up games against Australia (July 15) and Serbia (July 17) in Abu Dhabi. Then, the team will travel to London for exhibition games against South Sudan (July 20) and Germany (July 22). The Americans will play Croatia in their first game of group play at the Olympics on July 28.
