‘You running a story on that?’ Kevin Durant bats away dumbest question

Paris: The hottest ticket in town on Thursday wasn’t a sporting event but the traditional pre-Olympics media opportunity with Team USA.

Hundreds of reporters, cameramen and photographers jammed into one of the vast media conference rooms at the Main Press centre, all hoping to see some of the most iconic athletes on the planet. Maybe ask a question.

United State’s men’s team Kevin Durant, right, and Stephen Curry attend a press conference on Thursday.Credit: AP

One hack even got a selfie with Steph Curry’s … sign. The sign on the podium that tells us the person speaking into the microphone is Steph Curry. Like we needed reminding.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get the full rollcall from Team USA – including LeBron James – but we did get Curry and his former Golden State teammate Kevin Durant, who is always good value.

While Curry looked and spoke like the wide-eyed Olympics rookie that he is, Durant looked every bit like Durant: barely interested, one hand propping up his chin, but still peeling off one-liners that made us giggle.

Asked if the Boston Celtics trio of Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White had been talking themselves up after becoming NBA champions, Durant interjected before the question had finished.

“Not at alllllll,” he smiled.

“Every time Jase comes in, he says, ‘The champ is here’,” Curry joked.

“We have champs on our team,” Durant said. “They’re just the most recent.”

The dumbest question of the session – and it was a strong field – came from a Norwegian radio reporter who effectively asked the pair if they could swim in case there was a terror attack while they were coming down the River Seine on boats for the opening ceremony.

“If something’s happening there, have you talked as a team about that?” he asked. “Do you know how to swim, for example?”

The pair were stunned.

“You’re like a flight attendant, giving us the exits over here if you need them,” Curry said. “Nobody’s thinking like that. We know how to swim. Everything’s gonna go smooth.”

“But, on the boat, you can’t run anywhere,” the reporter continued.

“You running a story on that?” Durant shot back, looking out the corner of his eye.

With the likes of LeBron, Steph, KD, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, Team USA remains the team to beat – as always.

“You have to bring your egos as individual players, but also let them go,” Curry said. “It doesn’t matter who’s the man scoring that particular night. We’re Team USA. If we do that, good things happen.”

The pair bristled, though, at suggestions that they’re the “biggest stars” at these Olympics. I’m sure Rafael Nadal agrees.

“When you get around the other athletes, you’re all representing your country,” Curry said. “The NBA is part of who we are, but it doesn’t make us any different to athletes to our left or right.”

“Giannis. Jokic … our game is global now, man,” Durant said. “All these guys are stars in their own way.”

Then Curry turned to Durant and started chatting like the throng of reporters wasn’t there.

“The Dream Team [which won gold at Barcelona in 1992] played against nine NBA players,” he said. “Now there’s more than 60 NBA players.”

The USA meet Serbia, featuring Nikola Jokic, on Sunday.

POOL STINK

It’s not an Olympics unless there’s drama involving the swim team just days before the opening ceremony.

Revelations from this masthead’s swimming correspondent, Tom Decent that coach Michael Palfrey had told South Korean journalists on Tuesday that he hoped world champion Kim Woo-min would defeat Australian medal hopefuls Elijah Winnington and Sam Short in the men’s 400m freestyle quickly became the story of the Games before they had started.

The call quickly went out for Palfrey to be sent home.

Even though head coach Rohan Taylor slammed Palfrey’s remarks as “un-Australian”, and AOC chef de mission Anna Meares was far from impressed, there was strong pushback from within about putting Palfrey on the next flight home.

Meares, a former Olympic gold medallist in cycling, instantly thought like an athlete and was concerned about sending home a coach just two days out from the meet. Taylor was of the same opinion.

The wider coaching group within the Australian team also wanted Palfrey to stay. They were concerned about his wellbeing after bringing so much unwanted attention to the team days before the meet starts.

There hasn’t been this much treachery from a national team coach since Eddie Jones started negotiating with Japan while coaching the Wallabies at last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Tommy Decent broke that story, too.

MEARES STAYS ON MESSAGE

Meares has been impressive in her role thus far, although she was grilled at her morning media conference by Olympian James Magnussen.

The Missile was sitting in the front row and, when it was time to ask a question, he stood up, announced he was from News Corp, and then squared up his former Australian teammate.

“When the swimmers have amazing results, and you pick them as a flag bearer, how will you negate them being kicked out?” he asked.

The AOC has controversially decided to send athletes home two days after their event finishes – a practice in line with most countries. If they want to stay, or come back for the closing ceremony, they will need to book their own accommodation.

There have been suggestions that Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, would pay for swimmers to stay in Paris, but this has been denied.

Meares took Magnussen’s question in her stride.

“This is not the swimming Olympics,” Meares said.

She resisted dropping the microphone and leaving the podium.

SEVEN BELLS

Keen observers would have noticed a giant bell being rung by the winning team after every rugby sevens game.

The Aussies were under the impression the bell was a survivor from the 2019 blaze that destroyed the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral.

Turns out the bell, which has Paris 2024 engraved into it, wasn’t from Notre Dame but a newly created bell that will eventually be hung in the cathedral as part of the renovations.

THE QUOTE

“It is a wake-up call and it is not to our standard.” — Matildas captain Steph Catley after her side’s 3-0 loss to Germany.

THUMBS UP

Australia’s men’s sevens team is looking the goods, reaching the semifinals after making easy work of the US in their quarterfinals. They play Olympic champions Fiji on Saturday.

THUMBS DOWN

A suspected Russian spy who has been arrested for allegedly plotting to “destabilise” the Olympics is also a chef who got drunk and is alleged to have told people about his mission to target the opening ceremony. Kirill Griaznov, who has been living a double-life in Paris, now faces 30 years in prison.

It’s a big opening ceremony for … Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, who are apparently performing Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose on the night. Can’t wait. It’s exactly what the world needs right now.

It’s an even bigger opening ceremony for … Paris organisers who have dared to take the event out of a stadium for the first time, instead having the athletes’ parade on boats down the River Seine. Only a quarter of the Australian team are participating. But it will look good and that’s all that really matters.

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