In the ultimate clutch moment, in the fourth quarter of a semi-final matchup with Serbia as the USA’s gold medal dreams were fading into nothing (or maybe bronze), Steve Kerr trusted the old lions of the NBA: Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry. They delivered in the most dramatic way possible.
Against France in the gold medal game Saturday, Kerr isn’t waiting for the final minutes, he is going to start Durant, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. He will replace Jrue Holiday in the starting five.
This isn’t a huge shock. First, France has real size in their lineup, especially with Victor Wembanyama in the lineup, and Durant is just bigger than Holiday. Second, before we knew how long Durant would be sidelined — through the entire set of exhibition games before the Olympics — the expectation was that Durant would move into the starting lineup. Maybe there’s an argument to be made for sticking with the rotation that has been winning, but Kerr understandably does not want to play around in the gold medal game when a talented French team will be fired up and playing in front of a raucous crowd. (The USA better expect plenty of unfriendly whistles, as well.)
This makes the starting five Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Durant and Joel Embiid. Expect Anthony Davis to be quick off the bench as Kerr will need his size and mobility against France.
The USA will play France for the gold medal in Paris starting at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. You can follow along with all the action with our live blog here at NBCSports.com, and if you want to watch, the game will be broadcast on NBC or can be streamed on Peacock.
