Kevin Durant explains mindset as he closes in on Lisa Leslie's Team USA scoring record

Team USA defeated Puerto Rico 104-83 in the final round of pool play on Saturday, improving to 3-0 during their stay at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Kevin Durant scored 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench, further adding to his strong start following his return from injury. He was the second-leading scorer in the game — and leaves Saturday’s win just five points shy (483) of breaking the all-time Team USA scoring record, which is currently held by WNBA legend Lisa Leslie at 488.

“It feels good to accomplish stuff like that with this group of guys,” Durant said on the court postgame. “It’s a fun group of guys and I like being in our locker room with them. It’s cool to do that type of stuff but we’re just trying to get that gold. … We always play together, we play off of each other. We’ve got two different units that play different ways — but we’re all still on the same page. It’s been a fun first three games and we’re looking forward to the medal rounds now.”

While it’s unclear who Team USA will battle in the medal rounds as of this report, Durant is almsot certaintly going to eclipe Leslie’s total within the next game or two barring any unforeseen setbacks. He’s also 17 points away from being the first Team USA member to eclipse 500 points in Olympics history.

Durant is a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, appearing on every Team USA roster since the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He’s the reigning Olympic MVP for his efforts during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and came into Paris as Team USA’s all-time leader in scoring average, field goals made, made 3-point field goals and free throws.

He scored 23 points on 5 of 5 shooting from the 3-point line in the Olympic opener against Nikola Jokic and Sebia. Against Serbia, Durant was cleared to play only hours before the game. He did not participate in Team USA’s exhibition games prior to the Olympics due to a calf strain he suffered in June. However, it looked as if he was in mid-season form after following that up with a 14-point, three-steal performance in game two against South Sudan.

The next closest is Diana Taurasi, who currently stands 74 points shy of the record. At 42, it’s expected to be her final Olympics. It’s unclear whether Durant will hang it up after this cycle, but it appears that the all-time scoring record is his for the taking during the next time Team USA takes the floor.