With more than a decade of hindsight, we can say that the workforce of Team USA for the 2010 World Cup had all the same the mouth: Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook or even Chauncey Billups, without forgetting Andre Iguodala , Kevin Love and Kevin Durant.
Except that at the time, it must be remembered that the public’s disappointment was great with this young group, where none of the Olympic champions from Beijing, two years earlier, was finally present.
In a few days, Kevin Durant will, almost single-handedly, swept away doubts and allowed the Americans to become world champions again, sixteen years after the coronation of Dream Team II.
Surrounded by soldiers, the young star of the Thunder, only 22 years old, will crush the defenses of the competition in the final phase. He started with 33 points in the quarter-finals against Russia, continued with 38 points to beat Lithuania in the semi-finals, before scoring 28 points in the final on September 12, 2010, against the host country Turkey.
“We played for him the whole tournament. Durant made it easy for everyone. The defenses had to do otherwise with him”remembered Derrick Rose in 2020. “I had never seen a player dominate matches like that, for an entire tournament”assured Andre Iguodala. “Teams didn’t know how to deal with him. He is a 2m10 player who can score inside and outside. “
With 205 points scored in nine matches, an American player has never scored so much in a World Cup. “KD” was logically elected MVP of the competition with remarkable figures: 22.8 points on average at 55% shooting success, 45% at 3-pts and 91% at free throws.
