Team USA secured their fifth straight gold medal on Saturday, thanks in no small part to two Phoenix Suns. Kevin Durant sealed his status as the greatest Olympic hooper ever, while Devin Booker acted as a low usage Swiss Army Knife throughout the tourney, leading to Steve Kerr naming him the “shadow MVP".
Team USA was as stacked as ever and, as such, many of the players took on different roles than they play for their less talented NBA teams. Because it’s such a unique environment, players’ performances aren’t always translatable to the NBA.
Booker, for instance, isn’t going to be taking a back seat to anybody once the regular season starts up. But there are still some parts of his do-it-all performance that he might be able to implement in the upcoming NBA season.
Part of what made Booker so valuable to Kerr was his effort on the defensive end. Throughout group play and the knockout rounds, Book routinely picked up opposing players at full court, hounding them the entire way up. He was also tenacious fighting over screens, rarely allowing a switch to occur.
His impact on defense was evidenced by his preferred sub whenever he left the court: Jrue Holiday.
Book’s defensive performance was especially notable because of his drop off on that end this past season. After becoming a legitimate defensive weapon in 2021-22 and 22-23, Booker took a step back because of the added playmaking responsibility he was forced to shoulder as the Suns operated without a point guard. So much of his energy was being expended on offense that he couldn’t give the same effort on defense he had in years past.
With Tyus Jones and Monté Morris now both in the fold, Booker can go back to being a connector who sometimes creates, rather than being a full-time playmaker. His scoring responsibility means he’ll never be the on-ball terror that he was in these Olympics, but just being great on that end will help the Suns defense out immensely.
Bradley Beal gotta start next season even with the addition of Tyus Jones, right? (✍️ @LucaLockheart)https://t.co/fHYZfQpF4T
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) July 28, 2024
Durant operated in much the same role on offense that he always does, albeit with much lower usage, as well as coming off the bench due to dealing with an injury.
The defensive end was a different story for KD. Because of LeBron James’ presence on the team, along with several centers, Durant regularly played the small forward position on D. This allowed him to use his crazy length to bother smaller perimeter players, but it also kept him from having to bang down low and guard the likes of Nikola Jokić, which LeBron did in the matchups against Serbia.
Durant was forced into the four position last season, and will be again this season if Tyus Jones starts, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a full-time role for him.
This offseason, the Suns acquired multiple players that could play the four and bump KD down a position. Aside from re-signing Royce O’Neale, the Suns drafted Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. If either of those young players are ready to play immediately, then Durant could find himself in some lineups where he can play his more natural position, which would allow him to preserve some of his energy.
Durant also played the center position in small-ball lineups last season, more out of necessity than luxury, since the Suns didn't have a viable backup. There was none of that in the Olympics, and if Mason Plumlee proves to be an effective backup, KD should see significantly less minutes at the five this season.
Durant will still do plenty of rim protecting, just as Booker will see some playmaking action, but the acquisitions the Suns made this offseason ensures those won't be their primary roles. Instead, it could be a rare instance in which superstars take what they did in the Olympics, and carry it over into the NBA's regular season.