Duke basketball: Kevin Durant says Blue Devil will break his record

Kevin Durant said a former Duke basketball superstar will eventually break his record. 

It was a stressful yet historic evening for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics as the Americans took the best shot, and then some, from the Czech Republic. And a former Duke basketball star received high praise following the victory.

In the second quarter of Team USA’s 119-84 win on Saturday, Kevin Durant passed Carmelo Anthony as the leading scorer in the history of USA Olympic Basketball.

Durant now stands at 354 points in his Olympic career, while Anthony posted 336 in his decorated tenure with Team USA at the Olympics.

Kevin Durant was the team’s leading scorer in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, where the Americans won the gold medal under the head coaching of Mike Krzyzewski.

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However, Durant quickly brushed off the latest accolades given to him and turned his attention to his pick to be the future all-time leading scorer of USA Olympic Basketball, Jayson Tatum.

In his postgame press conference, Durant said, “this guy next to me will be the next one [to break the USA Olympic scoring record].” And the one next to him was Jayson Tatum.

Durant ended his historic performance with 23 points, but the former Blue Devil put on a show himself with a game-high 27 points plus two rebounds and one assist while shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

Former Duke basketball standout continues quest for gold medal

After a sluggish start to the International competition, Team USA has qualified for the knockout stages, although its opponent in the quarterfinals is not yet known.

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The Americans will know their opponent following the last day of the group stages in games between Argentina vs. Japan and Spain vs. Slovenia.

Team USA will either play on Monday, August 2, or Tuesday, August 3, as a victory in the quarterfinals will give the Americans a chance to play for a medal regardless of their outcome in the eventual semifinals.