Pressure is something USA’s basketball stars apply to others – they’re having fun

PPerhaps the defining moment of this game—tonally, if not competitively—came right at the end of the third quarter. Anthony Edwards sends Nikola Jovic to the shoe store with an outrageous feint and slip, hits an easy two, and as he walks away, he sees virtually the entire bench doing imitations of him, spinning and staggering, consumed by fits of laughter. That, in retrospect, was probably the point at which a potentially awkward Olympic basketball opener against the world’s No. 4 team completely dissolved into a riotous, noisy pantomime.

So no, it’s fair to say that Team USA didn’t get the memo. They’re not burdened by your expectations. They’re not keeping themselves up at night wondering how they compare to 1992. They haven’t read your fearful tweets (with the exception of KD, who almost certainly has). The result: three-quarters business, one-quarter fun, a potential medal contender not simply defeated but dismissed with contempt, a game that was essentially conceived as a series of memes in the first place.

And so we had LeBron storming down the court like a berserker, possessed by that LeBron-esque rage where he kicks your ass, but he only does it for your own good. We had Steph Curry making a 3-pointer in the final seconds without looking and walking away with the ball still in the air, while a nearby guard stared in bewilderment. We had Kevin Durant pulling off one of the greatest shooting performances in Olympic basketball history, and he did it while basically grinning the entire time.

Perhaps the concept of American Olympic basketball in the modern era has its roots in the decadent pleasures of mass entertainment. This is a sports team built as an American consumer product, a master class in giving people everything they want, all at once, for as long as they want it. Here’s Guardians of the Galaxy. And the Avengers. Garnished with marshmallows and chocolate chips. And bacon. Served with cheerleaders. And cup holders.

If this is what it’s like to watch, what must it feel like to be on the inside of what could be the greatest basketball talent roster ever? How much fun must that be? “That’s the beauty of this experience,” a beaming Curry said afterward. “Rekindling old flames. Playing with guys I’ve never played with before, like LeBron and AD [Anthony Davis]. I’m having the time of my life.” Edwards, meanwhile, was even more succinct. “I got to play next to KD, so I’m good,” he said.

And of all the stars in this constellation, Durant feels like the key here, and in ways that aren’t always immediately apparent. Thirty-five years old and with three Olympic gold medals under his belt, Durant was unplayable for much of this game. He came off the bench in the first half and shot 8-of-8, including five from beyond the perimeter, for 21 points.

The highlight came right after the buzzer, a miraculous fadeaway after James put the ball back in play with just three seconds left. He had never scored 20 points from the field at 100 percent in either half of his NBA career. But the hapless Serbians were just the latest team to discover that international KD—even an aging KD, a KD recovering from injury, a KD who’d missed every warmup—is a subtly different proposition. In the land of fine dining, Durant came to eat.

But perhaps the less tangible quality that Durant offers is that he gets what this is about. A true national team legend, beyond everything he’s accomplished in the NBA, Durant understands that this thing—this concept—only really works when it’s fun. That a gray, snarling, salty America can still show up and win, of course, but somehow struggle to capture the essence of the experience. That at its core, this isn’t so much a voyage of conquest as it is a voyage of discovery: pushing the boundaries, turning the vibes up to 10, and seeing what you can create together. “He’s my favorite player in the world,” Edwards said. “I think he’s the best. Every time he steps on the court, he goes for it.”

The irony was that this could have been a lot more exciting without Durant. The US started rusty, Serbia opened a 10-2 deficit, Joel Embiid struggled defensively and was needlessly booed by the French crowd (he qualified to play for France but rebuffed their overtures). But with Durant spinning, Jrue Holiday and Bam Adebayo immense on defense, and James flashing his usual, brilliant alpha-male energy, they always had something in reserve.

“When you talk about Kevin Durant as a six-man, you know how good this team can be,” Curry said. “You can take five of our 12 and it’s an all-star, hall-of-fame lineup. We just have to play like that.”

Serbia, anchored by three-time NBA MVP Jokic, played a physical game but struggled to find rhythm as the game wore on, making too many poor decisions. They shot 42% from the field and just 24% from three, with Bogdan Bogdanovic having a particularly rough night. But as is becoming increasingly clear, pressure isn’t something the U.S. feels, it’s something they apply to others. Serbia had no answers here, and it’s not immediately clear that anyone else will.