Daily Thunder.com

Eric Freeman of BDL on what a gold does for KD: “When a player leads the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons, it’s difficult to imagine that his reputation as a producer of points could actually improve. However, Durant was so fantastic in his eight games — breaking the U.S. record for points in an Olympics and winning the tournament scoring title — that it’s only going to become easier to mention him as one of the best scorers in history, not just in this era. We didn’t really learn anything new about Kevin Durant in this tournament; he just continued to establish that he’s a historically great player worthy of all the praise he receives.”

James Harden on winning gold: “It’s hard to explain,” said Harden. “Just being on this team with this great group of guys, competing for a gold medal and reaching our goal is overwhelming … Every single day it was something different. Especially, like I said, being with these guys. You get to watch them play basketball, you play basketball against them, but once you are the same team you get a feeling for who they are as a person. Every single day was something different and I am just happy to be a part of this team.” Keep Reading…

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com: “In the end, the Lakers still project to be about 3-4 wins worse than the Heat and Thunder. That might prove to be worse considering that Oklahoma City’s core entirely comprises players still on the ascent. L.A. projects to be better than every non-Heat team in the East, but to get a shot at Miami in the Finals, the Lakers not only have leapfrog the Thunder in the West, but also the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and — just maybe — the Minnesota Timberwolves.”

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com: “Think about this one for a second: Durant is 23 years old and just scored more points in one Olympics than any player in history (156). He made a mockery of the shortened international dimensions, drilling 3-pointer after 3-pointer during the tournament. All in all, Durant shot 52.3 percent from downtown and scored 30 points every 40 minutes in the eight games Team USA played. He made more 3-pointers than Anthony and Love combined. Again, 23 years old. As hard as it is to believe, he’s only getting started. If he continues to raise his passing game like he did last season en route to the NBA Finals, James will have some company in the “greatest player alive” competition sooner than we think. At his young age, Durant has somehow already earned the “greatest pure-scorer alive” label. Not bad.” Keep Reading…