Last night the Brooklyn Nets’ season ended at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, and with it Kevin Durant’s sublime return from the devastating injury he suffered two years ago that ended the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty. Doubtless it is a bitter blow for Durant, but it opens up another possibility - a reunion with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the core of that Golden State Warriors dynasty, on Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Olympics will start on July 23rd, the day after the NBA Finals is scheduled to finish. The Team USA roster is expected to be announced around the end of the month, and must be set by July 5th. Several notable players have opted out, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and several more potential stars are either deep in the playoffs or nursing injuries. Team USA could certainly do with some more star power. What better than a resurrection of the core of one of the greatest teams in modern NBA history?

The big question on whether Durant will go to Tokyo is the state of his health. However, Durant’s camp was surprisingly upbeat about playing in the Olympics again throughout his return from that terrible Achilles injury. Long-time associate and business partner Rich Kleiman told the Washington Post back in 2020 that Tokyo was “definitely a possibility” despite Durant still rehabbing at that point.

Since then, Durant has proven beyond all doubt that he’s back at his peak, and has just come off a series where he tied Allen Iverson for the most minutes played in a playoff series. While the turnaround would be short, it’s not as short as it was expected to be. And Durant was listed among the finalists for the Team USA roster recently indicating his appearance in Tokyo still remained a possibility. That earlier-than-expected cracks the door wide open now.

Durant has won two gold medals already in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. A third gold would tie him with Carmelo Anthony for the most gold medals won by a male athlete for Team USA basketball, though he’d still be trailing a host of female Team USA stars who have won four golds including Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi. With just over a month to go before the action tips off in Tokyo, Durant definitely does have some time to prepare for another tilt at gold.

Stephen Curry is also on that list of 57 finalists for Team USA, though to date has remained noncommittal despite never having won an Olympic gold medal. Like his former teammate Kevin Durant, Curry has returned from a lost season to reach a new stratosphere of play. After leading the league in scoring, Curry finished third in MVP voting despite the Warriors finishing 8th in the West standings, and received his fourth First Team All-NBA slot.

At the All-Star break he said “it’s been on the radar” but a lot would depend on how the second half of the season went, and what the scheduling and logistics looked like. After the Warriors’ own early exit in the final play-in game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Curry said he was “trying to gather as much information as possible and make the right decision for me at the end of the day.”

With long-standing business interests in Asia — Curry visited Tokyo in 2018 and 2019 the last two summers before the pandemic hit on his Under Armour UAA Tour — there are financial reasons as well as basketball reasons for Curry to take the plunge. Earlier this season Under Armour launched the Curry Brand, mirroring Nike’s NKE Jordan Brand many years ago. The Tokyo Olympics could prove a further boon to Curry’s already well-developed global brand.

Still, The Athletic reported a couple of weeks back that Curry was 50-50 on playing for Team USA this time round. Could the opportunity to re-unite with Kevin Durant to capture his first Olympic gold medal finally tip the balance in favor?

One Golden State Warriors star who will be on the roster is Draymond Green, who committed to play in Tokyo pretty quickly after the end of the Warriors season. The third of the old dynastic triumvirate also came into this season with something to prove. After captaining a young Warriors roster to the fifth best defensive rating in the NBA, Green has proven he’s still got plenty of rev in the old engine, finishing third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and receiving his first All-Defense First Team selection since 2017 (and fourth overall).

Green played for Team USA in Rio in 2016, alongside Durant and teammate Klay Thompson who is still rehabbing from injury and won’t be in Tokyo. Should Green help Team USA to a win this time around he’ll join a longlist of NBA stars who have helped their country to two Olympic gold medals, including Charles Barkley, his sparring partner in his new burgeoning career as a TV analyst. As a serial winner, that will only help grow Green’s legacy.

But with Green in tow, the door opened for Durant, and Curry still considering his options, the opportunity is right there for an unexpected reunion that will delight Warriors fans, and would almost certainly help Team USA recapture their international glory.