The United States men's basketball team will make its official 2024 Olympic debut on Sunday as the star-studded roster takes on Nikola Jokic's Serbia squad. Team USA went undefeated in five exhibition matchups in the lead-up to the Paris Games despite missing one of its all-time players in Kevin Durant, who has been out with a lingering calf injury.
Head coach Steve Kerr is "hopeful" Durant will be ready to go on Sunday and make his debut just in time for the games to matter.
"Hopefully [Durant will play]," Kerr said, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well, and we'll have another practice today and we'll just keep taking it day by day."
Additionally, Kerr gave an update on the status of two of Team USA's elite big men in Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid. Both superstars have been battling illness in recent days; Kerr revealed Embiid missed practice Saturday and Davis has been sick for a few days. It is rather poor timing with Jokic coming up on the schedule but Kerr sounded confident they'd be fine by tip-off.
"I'm confident we'll have everybody ready [Sunday]," he said.
Durant is Team USA's all-time leading scorer with three gold medals and counting. His shot-making will be a welcome addition to a squad that has struggled to shoot the ball at times. The Hall of Fame forward's versatility will also give Kerr a lot more lineup flexibility as he attempts to nail down the best combinations in the group stage of the Olympics.
Embiid and Davis's ailments don't seem to worry Kerr very much, but is certainly something to watch. Bam Adebayo is the only big man depth left after those two and dominant center play is key to winning in international play.
All in all it does sound like the world will see Team USA at full strength for the first time on Sunday. It should be very fun to watch.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Kerr Gives Update on Team USA Stars' Injury Status for Opening Game .
