Lisa Leslie addresses Kevin Durant breaking her Olympic record: "Go get another Gold medal"
Kevin Durant became Team USA's all-time leading scorer in Olympic history on Tuesday following their quarterfinal win over Brazil. Durant passed Lisa Leslie for the record late in the third quarter. Soon after, Leslie sent a message to "KD" for his record-breaking performance.
In a post on X/Twitter, Leslie congratulated Durant for his accomplishments with Team USA and urged the Phoenix Suns superstar to go for gold and become the first men's basketball player in history to win four Olympic gold medals.
"Congratulations @KDTrey5 I’m honored to have you break my @TeamUSA Olympic record!!! Our dedication to our country is evident and etched in stone!! Now go get another Gold medal my friend! One Team, One Goal, Gold! #GoUSA," Leslie tweeted.
Kevin Durant broke the record with 3:06 left in the third quarter, scoring the 489th point of his Olympic career. Lisa Leslie's record was 488 points tallied across four Olympic tournaments in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
On the other hand, Durant is also in his fourth Olympic tournament after making his debut at the London 2012 Games. He won two more gold medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021 as the main superstar on the roster.
Team USA is just two wins away from achieving glory after beating Brazil 122-87. They will face Serbia in the semifinals, and either France or Germany in the final, if they make it past Nikola Jokic and Co.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James react to KD's Olympic scoring record
"KD" was humble post-game when reporters asked him about his feelings after breaking Lisa Leslie's Olympic scoring record. Durant finished the night against Brazil with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in just 21 minutes off the bench.
"Records are meant to be broken, so somebody will come along and do the same. We're just focused on trying to win this gold," Durant said.
LeBron James praised his Team USA teammate for his love of the game, which helped him break the record. James knows a thing or two about breaking scoring records since he's the NBA's all-time leading scorer:
"He was born to play ball and he's simply incredible. I'm happy for him, congratulations to him, super proud of him and he has got more to go," James said.
Team USA will have a day's worth of rest before taking on Serbia for a place in the final. They defeated Serbia with ease in the group stages, but anything can happen in a one-game knockout situation.