TOKYO — Kevin Durant wrapped in Old Glory after more Olympic glory was the fitting final visual from the men’s basketball competition at the Tokyo Games. The U.S. doesn’t win this gold medal without Captain America, and probably doesn’t even come close.
This wasn’t the romp in Rio, when the U.S. won all eight of its games by an average margin of 21.3 points. This wasn’t the lopsided run through London, where the margin of victory was 31.1. Nor was it the blowout in Beijing (27.9). This was harder than all of those, with exhibition upsets and an opening loss to France and double-digit deficits in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.