Just three days before its Olympic opener against Serbia, the U.S. men's basketball team still doesn't know whether one of its biggest names will be able to take the court: Kevin Durant. The 2014 NBA MVP didn't play in any of the Americans' five tune-up games this month, and he confirmed in a press conference on Thursday that his Olympic availability is still up in the air — though things do seem to be trending in a positive direction.

“Each day has been getting better. Just checking things off the list," Durant said. "I have practice today, practiced yesterday. I’ll see how that goes.”

U.S. head coach Steve Kerr had hoped that Durant would be able to see action in one of his team's two games in London last weekend, but the Phoenix Suns star was held out of the wins over South Sudan and Germany. The fact that Durant is practicing regularly represents a step forward, but this sort of injury is a notoriously tricky one, and it's clear that the U.S. wants to exercise caution with one of its best players — recognizing that the path to another gold medal is a marathon, not a sprint.

For as star-studded as this U.S. roster is, it's hard to overstate Durant's impact. Both because of his level of play — he made his 14th NBA All-Star team this past season and remains as ruthlessly efficient a scorer as ever at age 35 — and his wealth of experience playing on the Olympic stage. Even amid the oldest men's basketball roster the U.S. has ever sent to the Olympics, Durant's track record stands out: KD captured his third gold medal at the Tokyo Games, earning tournament MVP honors and becoming the all-time leading Olympic scorer for the U.S. men in the process.

That success isn't a coincidence. Durant's size, shooting and defense make him the definition of versatility, and his skills translate more effortlessly to the international game than just about anyone else on the U.S. roster. Facing the deepest pool of talent in Olympic history, it's hard to imagine the U.S. winning a fourth straight gold without a healthy Durant — even if that means holding him out for a game or two in group play. The Americans open up their Olympic competition on Sunday against three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia, then face South Sudan and Puerto Rico to close out Group C.