Old news here today but worthy of seeing
all the same. Kevin Durant was the popular
player in the USA games against all the other
foreign countries. In fact he propelled U.S. to
the finals. Wearing the red, white and blue -
especially on 9/11, he had a special memorial
message written on his sneakers. He carried the
U.S. into victory for the gold medal game in the
world championship, scoring a U.S. record 38
points in the 89-74 victory over Lithuania.
To play that day, Kevin said, was a great honor.
He went on to surpass Carmello Anthony's single-game record
of 35 points & raise the average in the tournament to 22.1, which
would be the best ever by a U.S. player.
They got their first world title since 1994
winning against Turkey in the final game.
The Lakers Lamar Odom added 15 points
and 19 rebounds. He stated that playing on
September 11th. was "an incredible day for
all of us". A native New Yorker, he said he lost
friends from High school to those terrorists attacks nine years ago in the United States.
"So to be playing and representing your own
country, is a really big deal" Odom said.
The players just beamed after their win over
Turkey 81-64 in order to bring home the gold.
With Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Co.
sitting home, this group that played overseas
was called a "B" team which the players were
aware of and could not wait to disprove!
"I think that was extra motivation" Durant said.
"It was exciting to come out here and win and be
able to prove people wrong".
They may have been unconventional at times
but they worked real hard & made it happen.
At half time during the
Turkey game, the FIBA
inducted its Hall of Fame class, a group that
included women's star Cheryl Miller, former
NBA centers Vlade Divac, Arvydas Sabonia,
and Brazilian star Oscar Schmidt.
Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski helped
cut down the basketball net as he too celebrated
the Final game with Turkey. USA brought us the gold! So very proud of each one of you!
Babs Wells