Inside The Warriors

Kevin Durant Makes Statement About Steve Kerr Not Starting Him on Team USA

USA Basketball star Kevin Durant has been coming off the bench
Joey Linn|
May 6, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (center) and forward Kevin Durant (35) walk off the court after game four of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
May 6, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (center) and forward Kevin Durant (35) walk off the court after game four of the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Golden State WarriorsPhoenix Suns

USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr has needed to make some very difficult decisions through two games at the Paris Olympics. Not playing Jayson Tatum at all in Team USA's Olympic opener against Serbia, Kerr started the Boston Celtics star against South Sudan. It was Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid who was a DNP against South Sudan.

Kerr's rotation decisions became more difficult once Kevin Durant returned from injury, as the Phoenix Suns star was guranteed minutes. That said, Durant has come off the bench for both games he has played this summer, which the two-time Finals MVP says he is okay with.

"It's basketball, it really doesn't matter who starts," Durant said per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "It's about really who finished the game, who put their impact on the game while they're in the game. So I just try to do my best to impact it any way I can."

Windhorst added that Durant said he is fine coming off the bench the entire run if that is what Kerr wants.

Durant played three seasons under Kerr with the Golden State Warriors, winning back-to-back Finals MVP awards in 2017 and 2018. Now back with Kerr in Paris for the Olympics, Durant is willing to do whatever is asked of him, even if that means coming off the bench.

Related Articles

Draymond Green Fires Back at NBA Legend's Outlandish Warriors Statement

Major Update on Golden State Warriors' Offseason Plans Revealed

Warriors Star Gets Honest About Being Teammates With Draymond

Published
Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

Share on XFollow joeylinn_
Home/News