Kevin Durant Will Have A Highly Productive Olympics

Kevin Durant was the top scorer in the first two Olympic exhibition games, getting him off to a hot start with Team USA and his new Warriors’ teammates.

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Most recently, Team USA dismantled China in an exhibition match, posting a 106-57 win on Sunday. The American team is absolutely stacked and exciting, but it’s Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors who will own the headlines from now through the end of the Summer Olympics.

Unfortunately for Durant, his new image as the NBA’s villain for signing with the Warriors has already led to some troubling reactions. Both Durant and Draymond Green were booed by spectators in Los Angeles, where the exhibition game against China was played.

Regular booing on the road will be a constant for Durant during his inaugural season with Golden State. But to hear him tell it, he couldn’t care less. Basketball fans are just going to have to deal with his choice to be a Warrior.

While opponents will spend the rest of the summer feeling burned by Durant, he’s going to benefit from a multitude of opportunities that will come from his Olympic campaign.

He will certainly be the man in charge en route to a gold medal for Team USA, and will get an early jump on meshing with new teammates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson before NBA camps start later this year.

Based on recent history — and the two games played so far — the quest for gold should be a cakewalk for Team USA. They absolutely have the greatest size and talent among the other countries. Anything less than an Olympic gold medal would be an incredible shock.

Which makes the the opportunity that Durant has — to have extra time with his fellow Warriors — potentially outweigh the entire Olympic experience for him.

Many believe though, that the same thing could be said for the Warriors in the coming NBA season. Many believe that like Team USA winning a gold, it will be a cakewalk to a title for the latest “super team.” Most believe that with Durant on board, Golden State is the obvious favorite to win it all next season.

However, if anyone knows that expectations don’t always match reality, it’s the Warriors, who suffered that horrific loss in the Finals this past June.

Coming off that loss, Bob Myers had an opportunity to improve the Warriors in outstanding fashion, so he went for it. Kevin Durant will certainly fill some gaps that the Warriors had last year — such as their inconsistent mid-range shooting.

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Durant though, is dominant in almost every way and will improve Golden State in a multitude of ways, so it seems safe to say that Golden State will be an unfathomable threat for everybody — including LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Stephen Curry will have to get better acquainted with Durant later. For now, the trio of Durant, Green, and Thompson will become thoroughly adjusted to each other through their shared Olympic experience.

Oftentimes, a “super team” fails to meet expectations during their first stretch games together. Sometimes the overwhelming hype disregards the universally important concept of team chemistry.

A team can have the greatest individual players in the world, but it won’t matter if they can’t play well together. Which makes the bond Durant, Green, and Thompson will form this summer all the more important.

Next: Golden State Warriors: No More Distractions

On the world’s stage during the Olympics, everyone will see the early progress of the powerhouse that the already great Warriors can become with Kevin Durant on their side.

Durant won’t let the boos get to him though. He’s too focused on his goals with the Warriors to care about pointless noise.

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