Is Kevin Durant the New Face of USA Basketball?

Without LeBron or D-Wade, Durant doesn’t have much of a choice but to fill up the void those two left.

Dubbed as the next face of team USA Basketball, Kevin Durant downplays all the accolades as he concentrated for a gold medal this September in Turkey at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Durant, the 21-year old Oklahoma City Thunder star, is being hailed as Team USA’s headliner. “I doubt I’m the next face; I’m just another guy helping to bring a gold back to the U.S. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Durant said.

All of the 12 players who helped the USA basketball team win gold at the 2008 Olympics turned down an invitation to play for their country this summer. That includes most of the NBA’s biggest names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

“Those guys are superstars,” Durant said. “They are on another level. You can’t blame them.”

”USA across my chest was an automatic ‘yes.’ The chance to play with some of the greatest NBA players is going to make me better.”

That’s the humbled Durant speaking, almost as if he doesn’t realize he’s already a member of the NBA’s elite class. Durant led the NBA in scoring this year by averaging 30 points per game. He also finished second to James in MVP voting and made his first All-NBA team.

Durant has worked toward this summer’s opportunities since he didn’t make the Olympic team two years ago. He spent time in Las Vegas training with Team USA in 2008 but didn’t make Krzyzewski’s final cut.

“I wasn’t disappointed,” Durant said. “I knew I had to wait my turn for everything. Everything is not going to be just given to me. I’m going to have to fight for it. I made sure I did it and I’ve been working hard ever since.”

Durant’s dedication has paid off in more than one way. He recently signed a five-year extension with the Thunder that will pay him $86 million.

He silently announced the agreement through his Twitter account, which drew praise from many basketball fans disillusioned with the spectacle James made out of his free agency. In a recent ESPN SportsNation poll, 20 percent more fans voted Durant would be the face of the NBA in five years over James.

In the meantime, Durant is content leading Team USA. “It’s a lot,” Durant said. “Words can’t explain how excited I am to be here and represent my country.”