The United States is one win away from its fifth consecutive gold medal, but head coach Steve Kerr is reportedly making a starting lineup change.
Team USA used the same starting five for both of its Knockout Round games: Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid.
In Saturday's gold medal match against France, he will replace Holiday with Kevin Durant in the starting lineup, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The decision to change the starting five is nothing new. This will be Kerr's fifth different starting lineup over 10 games between the USA's exhibition showcase and the Olympics.
This will, however, be Durant's first time in the starting five this summer.
Why is Kerr switching things up with a gold medal on the line? The Sporting News breaks down the decision below.
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USA Basketball starting lineup change: Kevin Durant to start over Jrue Holiday in gold medal game
Durant would not have been coming off the bench in the first place if he was healthy going into the Olympics. A calf injury postponed his 2024 Team USA debut until the Group Stage, but he didn't take long to shake off the rust.
Now, head coach Kerr is electing to start the gold medal match against France with the same lineup he closed the semifinal comeback win over Serbia: Curry, Booker, James, Durant, and Embiid. And it's hard to blame him.
Durant picked up the defensive intensity late, meeting ball-handlers as soon as they crossed halfcourt. With him, James, and Curry on the floor at the same time, it was a real "pick your poison" situation on offense down the stretch.
Curry and James both had big buckets in the fourth quarter but when there was one possession to put Serbia away, the ball was in Durant's hands on an island and he delivered in the last minute. That type of two-way versatility will give France even more to worry about to start the gold medal game.
Will Kevin Durant guard Victor Wembanyama?
Even though Holiday is the team's best perimeter defender, Durant offers more height and length going into a matchup against a Victor Wembanyama-led team. Don't be surprised to see KD draw that assignment from the opening tip.
For as incredible as Wembanyama has been defensively for France, his offense has been lackluster.
He's still leading his country with 13.8 points per game, but he's shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3. Durant is one of the few players on the planet who has the size, wingspan, and lateral quickness to disrupt Wembanyama both inside and out.
Wembanyama has been the focal point of every opponent's defensive gameplan and Kerr's decision to start Durant is another example of that.
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Kevin Durant's history of big gold medal games
USA Basketball's all-time leading scorer has done the most damage when a gold medal is immediately at stake. That could also have played a factor in Kerr's decision.
Durant was Team USA's go-to option in gold medal games in the 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
You can find Durant's stats from each of his gold medal games below.
| Olympics | Opponent | PTS | FGM-FGA | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA |
| 2012 London | vs. Spain | 30 | 8-18 | 5-13 | 9-10 |
| 2016 Rio | vs. Serbia | 30 | 10-19 | 5-11 | 5-6 |
| 2020 Tokyo | vs. France | 29 | 9-18 | 3-9 | 8-9 |
Durant is averaging 29.7 points on .491/.394/.880 shooting splits over his last three Olympic finals. As you probably know, he led the United States to win gold in each of those efforts.
Don't be surprised to see him play the same role as Team USA's closer again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
What this lineup change means for Team USA's rotations
Swapping Durant for Holiday in the starting lineup means the second unit needs to add more size. Luckily for Kerr, he has a 6-8, All-NBA forward that was kept on ice the entire semifinal game.
This lineup change should carve a path for Jayson Tatum to get back into the rotation. He'll likely take Derrick White's minutes in a game where the United States will need to utilize its length, athleticism, and physicality on the wing.
Expect to see a second group of Holiday, Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, and Bam Adebayo. Even though the Durant swap sacrifices some scoring off the bench, it gives Team USA a lockdown and versatile defensive unit to spell the starting five.
