Kevin Durant Cleared to Play in USA's Olympic Opener vs. Serbia After Calf Injury

Kevin Durant has been cleared to play in Team USA's opening game of the 2024 Olympics on Sunday.

Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Saturday that Durant "hopefully" will be able to go. The two-time NBA Finals MVP has passed every test since returning to practice last week and will be available barring any last-minute setbacks, Kerr said.

Durant has been nursing a strained calf since the U.S. team opened training camp on July 6. He practiced for the first time on Wednesday after sitting out all five exhibition games the team played leading up to the Olympics.

Kerr told reporters after Wednesday's practice that any decision about Durant playing would be a "big" collaborative effort.

"It's not just our training staff, but [USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill] is constantly in touch with Kevin's people and with the Suns," Kerr said. "This is not going to be like us going out and saying, 'Hey, let's just throw him out there.' This will be a big collaboration."

Despite the ongoing issue with Durant's calf, Kerr emphasized there was "no thought" of replacing him on the team.

USA Basketball previously replaced Kawhi Leonard with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White because of injury concerns.

Durant is already one of the most decorated Olympic athletes in men's basketball history. He is Team USA's all-time leading scorer by total points (435 in 22 games) and points per game (19.3). His three gold medals are tied with Carmelo Anthony for most in USA Basketball history.

Anthony, Gennadi Volnov and Sergei Belov are the only men's players with four career Olympic medals. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie, Tamika Catchings and Sylvia Fowles are the only basketball players to win at least four career gold medals.

The U.S. opens group play in the 2024 Olympics on Sunday against Serbia. The Americans defeated Serbia 105-79 in a pre-Olympic exhibition game in Abu Dhabi on July 17.