Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesUSA won the Tokyo Olympics gold medal with a victory over France of 87 to 82. Although USA won the majority of pool play, they lost to this same team in the first round, it is difficult to see them winning this tournament without Kevin Durant.Another dominant international performance follows a bizarre NBA postseason. This sends two messages to the rest of the world. KD is, in fact, the greatest men's basketball player ever to play for Team USA. At the very least, he is the most prolific. Two, with apologies to Nikola Jokic, Finals MVP Giannis Antookounmpo, and Luka Doncic, Durant might be the most important player on the planet at the moment.He averaged 20.3 points per game and shot 52.9 percent from field, 37.5% from three, and 90.5 percent from goal. This was six games. He passed Carmelo Anthony, who had one less Olympic experience, for the record of most American athletes at the Olympics with the most points. He was the most prolific cheater at the games, perhaps more so than any statistics or averages.It didn't matter which France throws his way in the gold medal game. Durant was able, regardless of whether it was the big-bodied Guerschon Yabusele or Nicolas Batum, the NBA wing, to get to his spots. He was also able to hit that high-release jumper, no matter who it was. Durant made the French pay when they sent him to the line. They were obviously more used to the physical nature FIBA games. Eighteen of his 29 points were scored from the stripe.Team USA looked worse against Australia in the semifinals.With just five minutes remaining in the second quarter, they fell behind by fifteen points. Australia was moving the ball offensively, cutting through open lanes to get to the rim and using a string defensively. The Australian team had defeated America in the previous two meetings. KD intervened to stop the bleeding.He scored a two-pointer to settle all issues and impacted the game by his rebounding and defense. This allowed his teammates enough time to catch up. He and the Americans then unleashed the whirlwind during a third quarter that was 32-10. He ended that game with 23 points.With the exception of the one loss to France there were many moments like these throughout the Olympics. Durant is not guardable. Durant reminds his opponent several times per game of this sobering fact.Luka's tournament numbers of 24.2 points, 10.0 rebound and 10.0 assists are likely to be more impressive. Jokic is an excellent rebounder and passer. Giannis, the reigning champion, just had a historic Finals. Stephen Curry and LeBron James still need to be mentioned. Even James Harden's peaks deserve a mention. Durant's ceiling is hard to dispute when you see him on the largest stages.KD had an average of 35.4 points, 10.6 rebound, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals in the seven-game Brooklyn Nets series against Giannis' Milwaukee Bucks. Kyrie Irving was out and Harden was limited. Durant was still within inches of ending the Bucks' eventual title run.How much easier can this argument be if KD is half-a-step further back on the shot for takeoff?Brooklyn would have likely been healthier if it had faced the Atlanta Hawks or Phoenix Suns. It's difficult to imagine Phoenix losing to Durant, Harden, and Irving if they were all available at this hypothetical Finals.KD would be the consensus choice for an objectively unanswerable question if he emerged from this offseason as the third Finals MVP.To make your case, you don't need to use a hypothetical. At this stage in LeBron's career, Durant may be the only player who ticks as many boxes or fills in as well as Durant. Durant can score at all levels of the game, including as a driver and post player, pull up shooter, catch-and-shoot threat, or as a pull-up shooter. As evidenced by his 5.6 assists per season, he can make things happen for others. He can move around the perimeter and protect the rim when locked in. He was able to hold his own against France on a few duck-ins by Gobert under the rim.His well-rounded dominance at the Olympics is unmatched by any American basketball player. The Dream Team was founded in 1992 and has been a source of inspiration for some of the most prominent names in basketball history. All of these Olympic moments have been shared by Charles Barkley and David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant and James. All of them have won gold.KD has more gold medals than any of them. KD scored more points than any of them in the Olympics. They also averaged less points than KD in the Olympics.Durant's game transcends the differences between NBA- and FIBA basketball.He radiates purity, whether he is torching Rucker Park's nets, scoring on an NBA court, or leading his countrymen in Rio, Tokyo, and London to gold.Durant's achievements in the NBA alone make him one of the best ever basketball players. This argument is topped off by the fact that Durant is the most prolific Olympian in Team USA's men's basketball history.
