Top recruit AJ Dybantsa praises Kevin Durant as the Suns star breaks career US Olympic scoring record: "We break records"
Kevin Durant is breaking records at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The Phoenix Suns star is hard at work with Team USA at the knockout stage of the Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament, and they just breezed past Brazil earlier today.
USA won the quarterfinal encounter, 122-87, with Durant contributing just 11 points. However, that was more than enough to get him to a total of 494 points throughout his entire Olympic career.
This allowed him to surpass Lisa Leslie, who previously held the record with 488 points. Leslie competed in the Olympics from 1996 to 2008 and won four gold medals, an achievement that Durant can possibly match in this edition of the competition.
Durant's achievement was celebrated by fans and fellow hoopers on social media, including AJ Dybantsa—the top prospect for the class of 2025.
Dybantsa went on his Instagram account to celebrate the news. He shared a video of Durant on his Instagram story that reflected Nike's #WinningIsntForEveryone Olympic campaign. The high school star forward accompanied it with the caption:
"yk how it gets we break records ! 🤷🏾♂️ congrats @easymoneysniper @nike"
Dybantsa has gained interest from several collegiate basketball programs, including Kansas, Alabama, North Carolina, BYU and Auburn. However, he hasn't made a decision yet regarding his commitment.
Lisa Leslie reacts to Kevin Durant's record-breaking Olympic career
3x WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie was one of the first to congratulate Durant, even before the game started. Knowing that Durant would most likely break her record, she went on to her X (formerly Twitter) account to show her support.
“Well let me start to (congratulate) @KDTrey5 as he gets ready to break one of my Olympic records! The Slim Reaper!! One of my all time favorites!,” she said.
The amazing feat was made possible by Durant's longevity in the game, having participated in every edition of the Summer Olympics since London 2012. Last week, he spoke with the media about what has allowed him to stay at the top for such a long time:
“Training staffs, the work that we put in, just keeping my body ready and just staying in the gym, to be honest," he said.
Durant's record seems to be safe for the foreseeable future. He's one of five US players with 300 or more points at the Olympics. The others are the retired Lisa Leslie and Carmelo Anthony, as well as Lebron James and Diana Taurasi—both of whom are likely in their last Olympic stint.