'Hell Yeah,' Kevin Durant Wants to Play for Team USA Basketball in 2028 LA Olympics

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant dismissed the notion that his Olympic career ended in 2024 and made it clear that he wants to represent Team USA in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"Hell yeah, I want to play," Durant told ESPN's Vincent Goodwill. "I would love to, but I gotta stay on top of my game. I'm not expecting, I want to produce on the floor and make Grant [Hill] and whoever is making the decisions, want to put me on the team. I don't want -- not just for seniority. I want to still prove I can help the team win. Today, yeah I feel like I'll put my name in that hat."

Durant earned his fourth career Olympic gold medal when he helped lead Team USA to victory in Paris nearly two years ago. Goodwill noted that there was "a belief the Paris Games were going to be a last run for Durant, in addition to LeBron James and Stephen Curry." However, the 37-year-old shot down that narrative.

"You guys, the media have projected that," Durant said. "That narrative, where did the last dance thing come from? I didn't say I wasn't playing. LeBron said he wasn't. You didn't hear that from me or Steph."

According to Goodwill, "Curry seems unlikely to play at this point and James has already said he will not participate."

Durant also took exception to the notion that the U.S. is being replaced as the leading basketball powerhouse due to the emergence of European stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.

"I just don't like the talk around the USA versus European style of how you approach the game," Durant said. "All I hear is, 'AAU is destroying the game, the Euros do it right while the Americans do it wrong.' It's a lot of bulls--t with that. I can read between the lines on that; it's a shot at Black Americans. We're controlling the sport; they're tired of us controlling the sport. 'France is coming for you.' Really? We smacked them boys."