Team USA is just one win away from its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, and Kevin Durant is just one win away from becoming the most decorated international basketball player in American history.
On Thursday in Tokyo, the Brooklyn Nets' superstar guard scored a team-high 23 points in Team USA's 97-78 win over Australia in the Olympic semifinals. Durant became the first men's player to pass the 400-point scoring mark in Olympic play, and last Saturday against the Czech Republic, he surpassed Carmelo Anthony for the most points scored in U.S. Olympic history.
"It's real irritating to me that we have one of the greatest basketball players ever, and he's just constantly poked and prodded. People don't recognize his greatness," JR said during Thursday's JR SportBrief show. "Why can't we appreciate a man who is 6-foot-11, plays and handles the basketball like he's 6-2, is one of the best shooters ever, is an underrated defender, came back from a blown-out Achilles, and probably played one of the best stretches of basketball in his entire life? He did it on the other side of 30!...
"Kevin Durant is one of the best basketball players you will ever see in your life. He's one of the most talented scorers you will ever see play in your life... If they lose [the gold medal game], if Durant has a bad game, he won't hear the end of it. Team USA won't hear the end of it. But the fact is, Team USA probably would've been slapped around already if it wasn't for Durant... I don't think he's appreciated. I don't think he's respected the way he should be..."
In five games this Olympics, Durant has averaged a team-high 19 points on 53-percent shooting, along with 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. During the truncated NBA season, the 32-year-old averaged 26.9 points in 35 games, and helped the Nets reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Team USA will play for gold on Friday against France, with tipoff scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET. Call it a revenge game for the Americans, as they lost their preliminary round opener to the French on July 25.
JR's complete thoughts on Durant and Team USA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.