By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France –Kevin Durant in theory could have missed the first game of the Olympics. However, not only he did appear but he was the best player on the floor, taking the credit by none other than LeBron James.
The King, who was also spectacular, explained why the performance of his teammate was not a surprise: “If you’re watching the practice, everything that he does in practice, it was no surprise that he comes out and he’ll get right to it, but it’s great to have him on his side”.
We got the first game in the Olympics, so it’s taking a little bit of getting used to those first five minutes. So after that, we start playing. It feels like Kevin would be an easy impact, but I mean, eight out of eight shots in the first half? I’m not sure you could imagine that. No, of course not, but at the end of your day, it’s not a surprise”.
“Butterflies come out”
LeBron has seen it all, but even himself said that playing in a 27,000-seat stadium that is modified to accommodate basketball, can be intimidating.
“You know, sitting there, listening to our national anthem, listening to the fans cheer, definitely got me a little nervous”, he admitted after the game. “My stomach, the butterflies came out. It was different, you know, and even for me, we played in front of a lot of people. It was just a different atmosphere, but we were able to get to them”.
LeBron ended up flirting with a triple-double – 21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds – and for him, that was what the game dictated with Serbia setting the tone early with a 10-2 star: “Whatever it takes for our ball club, I mean, it’s going to be somebody different every game. We have that type of firepower, but I just try to stay in the best shape I can be, and if it costs for me to play big minutes, I’m not going to do that. Everybody’s ready, so it’s a good start for us, and we look forward to getting some more work in and getting ready for South Sudan on Wednesday”.
Photo credit: FIBA