Basketball

“I’ve Tried To Steal Some Of Carmelo Anthony’s Techniques”: Kevin Durant Reveals His Inspiration In Becoming US men’s all-time Olуmpic scorer

Ashish Priyadarshi
|Published 02/08/2021

Kevin Durant is now the US men’s basketball team’s all team leading scorer, using tricks he picked from the person he passed, Carmelo Anthony.

Olympics basketball is a vastly different game than the NBA, but it was something that Carmelo Anthony managed to perfect and fine tune over his years of competing internationally.

Now, the mantle has finally passed to Kevin Durant. During USA’s game against the Czech Republic, Durant went ahead of Melo on this shot:

Kevin Durant pulls up from deep to become the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team’s all-time leading scorer! #USABMNT #Tokyo2020 #Basketball

🎥: @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/gISymaseHQ

— NBA (@NBA) July 31, 2021

Durant now has 339 points for Team USA compared to Melo’s 336. Durant is the only active player on the all-time scoring list for Olympic games.

Also Read: “Stephen Curry, making $50 million+ a year, will be NBA’s highest-paid player”: NBA Twitter reacts to news of unanimous 2016 MVP’s 4-year, $215 million contract extension

Kevin Durant Speaks Up About What It Meant To Pass Carmelo Anthony On All-Time Olympic Scoring List

Passing Melo up on the Olympic stage wasn’t something Durant took lightly. He knows that Anthony has been one of the most prolific players for Team USA, and so when he took the number one spot above him, KD only had respect for the international star.

Durant would say:

“You just think about all the players that have played in this program. It’s pretty cool to be amongst names like that. Carmelo is a guy that I played on two Olympic teams with, and I’ve seen his approach to these games and I’ve tried to steal some of his techniques.”

Kevin Durant had 23 points to pass Carmelo Anthony as the US men’s all-time Olympic scorer: “It’s pretty cool to be amongst names like that. Carmelo’s a guy I played on two Olympic teams with. Ive seen his approach to these games & Ive tried to steal some of his techniques” #nets

— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) July 31, 2021

Durant and Melo have paired up in the Olympics a couple of times, playing together in 2012 in London and then in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

While other superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry have opted out of the international stage, Durant’s willingness to play shows his love for the game. It’s something Melo embodied, and it looks like KD is learning a thing or two from him.

Durant is the only active NBA player in the top 10 scoring list with LeBron James being the only other remotely close one at number three with 273 points.

Also Read: “Will Zach LaVine be the Bulls’ next great shooting guard after Michael Jordan?”: Team USA star in line to sign max contract extension with Chicago Bulls

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About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.