Team USA was under some heat for dropping two exhibition games against Nigeria and Australia, and while they were able to clock a win against Argentina, many fans have been ripping the team for their performance in preparation of the Olympics in Tokyo.
Kevin Durant shot back, saying “the s*** people are saying doesn’t bother” him.
“We’re a team that’s still coming together and trying to find our identity,” Durant said, during an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. “We have so many great players that you can play so many different ways, and we are indecisive at times on defense and offense. In the midst of us figuring it out, these teams are established and they’re running their sets. We’re working on our sets. The stars were kind of aligned for us to lose early on.”
Durant also expressed confidence that the team can put it all together in time for Tokyo.
“It’s easy to say that after two losses without any context,” Durant added.
“Let’s just go down the roster of each team and you can find the answer. If you’re looking for NBA talent, those teams have it. Understand where we’re at as a team and then you can make assumptions for yourself. We do have all the best players in the league, but these national teams have NBA players, too, who are now No. 1 options and they’re used to playing that role internationally. We’re still adjusting as a team, and that’s not making excuses. There’s a lot of context people need to understand. We didn’t expect to lose a game, but losing games happen. We’ll get it right.”
