When we talk about the rich history of Team USA Basketball, with 42 total medals, 29 of them gold, and no other national team even coming close in FIBA competitions, three players stand out as the defining figures. All three are small forwards who left their mark in the last twenty years—Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. Each of them has four Olympics medals, with only KD having four golds, while Melo and Bron picked up a bronze in 2004.
Ahead of his Hall of Fame introduction, Anthony reflected on his career in the national team jersey where he made a bold statement, to say the least.
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“If I ain’t the face of USA Basketball, I don’t know who is,” Melo stressed.
KD passed Melo to become the all-time leading scorer and rebounder of Team USA
Although Melo is genuinely one of the greatest, the fact that KD is a perfect 4/4 at the Olympics, while Melo came up short once, already casts a big shadow on whether he’s really the face of USA Basketball. On the other hand, just last summer, KD passed him to become the all-time leading scorer and rebounder of Team USA, which only deepens the argument that he is the greatest to ever lace them up for Team USA based on accolades.
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It also shouldn’t be forgotten that in three straight Olympic finals, Durant led Team USA to gold, with Anthony on the roster. In 2012, Durant had 30 points and nine rebounds to lead Mike Krzyzewski’s squad to gold against Spain, while Anthony finished with just eight points. Then in 2016, with another 30 points in a blowout win over Nikola Jokic’s Serbia, Durant again delivered while Melo had seven points. And in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics final against France, he scored 29 points. It hardly gets better than this.
This isn’t even a debate when comparing the two in terms of delivering in the finals
We will briefly touch on the FIBA World Cup, where Melo also came up short in his lone attempt in 2006, finishing with bronze, while KD owns a world title from 2010, scoring 28 points against the host Turkey. Practically, this isn’t even a debate when comparing the two in terms of delivering in the finals.
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How great and dominant KD has been in a Team USA jersey was maybe best described by his Olympic teammate from Paris 2024, Bam Adebayo, who gave KD his flowers after yet another incredible Olympics stint.
“He has put the stamp on being the greatest Olympian. He has imprinted his name at the top” said Adebayo.
Two bronzes weigh heavily against Durant’s perfect record
As for LeBron, after returning to the NT jersey after 12 years of absence, it seems people had almost forgotten how good he was when playing for Team USA. He’s the only player in history with two triple-doubles at the Olympics, and at nearly 40 years old he also became the oldest player ever to win the tournament MVP award. He is also the second leading scorer, fourth rebounder and the all-time assist record-holder in NT jersey. Still, as in Carmelo’s case, two bronzes weigh heavily against Durant’s perfect record.
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Finally, there’s the USA Basketball Male Player of the Year award for the player who contributed the most to the national team’s success in FIBA competitions. The record holder is, as you can guess, Durant, with three such awards. Anthony has two, and James has one. These facts probably end the debate about the most accomplished player in Team USA history.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.