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In the past few months, there have been some new sports pictures that have really grown legs in a viral manner, thanks to the power of Twitter, Facebook, et al. Both the LeBron/Dwyane Wade picture and the Tiger Woods/Cigar Guy images resonated around the sports world, thanks to power of social media. In fact, some consider the D-Wade/James picture to be one of the best basketball images ever captured. While I’m partial to the Michael Jordan free throw dunk, the appeal of both is easy to understand: they’re incredible images.

But then again, so is this one:

After the jump >>

And the rest of us, especially those of us playing basketball, are just living in it. Just ask the other FIBA World Championship contenders, especially Lithuania and Turkey. While Durant was great during the entire tournament, in the final two games for Team USA (the semifinals and the finals), Durant put his team (and his country) on his back and carried them, courtesy of perhaps the sweetest jump shot stroke in the world, to the gold medal.

Essentially, Durant and his silky-smooth shot bombed the opponents out of the tournament — just like we predicted he would (Yeah, yeah, we really went out on limb there).

In the final two games, played back-to-back, Durant scored a combined total of 66 points and 14 rebounds. He also turned the ball over four times, a minuscule amount considering how many touches he had, and how hard opposing teams were trying to guard him. Not only that, but Durant shot the ball at a high percentage, and considering the amount of outside shots he took, it makes his two-game performance all-the-more impressive.

In the final two games, Durant was 24-43 (55%), while shooting 12-26 from behind the 3-point line (5-13 against Lithuania and 7-13 against Turkey). He also broke Carmelo Anthony’s single-game scoring record for Team USA with that 38-point outing against Lithuania in the semifinals.

After the FIBA World’s were said and done, it was plain to see Durant is the best offensive basketball player in the world, and if he stays healthy, his performance in World Championship is just a sign of things to come for the NBA and FIBA. In fact, I’m not sure there’s a player in the world who matches up against Durant defensively.

Kevin Garnett perhaps, but you’d need the “pre-knee injury” KG to be completely successful, but I digress.

Over at BallisLife.com, they made a nifty highlight video of Durant’s “Take Over the World” Tour that gives you a look at his amazing scoring abilities.

Video after the jump >>

Team USA’s non-Olympic basketball squad made their official debut yesterday against France, and while there definitely was some areas that can be improved upon — especially turnovers — overall, it has to be considered a success. 31-point wins have a way of supporting success stories. Leading the way for the Americans was Rudy Gay, who had 19 big points; about 8-10 of which came from thunderous dunks. It was a nice game for Gay, who stepped up in a big way in his role as a reserve player, while players like Kevin Durant and Danny Granger struggled.

In regards to Durant, he missed his first five shots from the field and didn’t get into the scoring column until he threw down back-to-back dunks, erasing the surprising goose egg. Nevertheless, Durant is still expected to take the FIBA Worlds by storm, but it’s good to know if he doesn’t have a his greatest shooting game, players like Gay are ready to step in and provide whatever is needed of them.

As for Gay, he’s apparently the team’s official dunker, and boy, he certainly embraced his role by throwing down a number of impressive dunks against the French. However, Gay’s dunk-a-thon didn’t start out with the highest note when one of his tomahawk attempts was thrown back in his face.

No matter, there are always other chances to make up for any unexpected defensive plays:

While the block was indeed nice, there was no blocking Gay’s second dunk attempt. If anyone would’ve tried, their arms would’ve been dunked through the basket as well. From that point on, it was the Rudy Gay dunk show:

He saved some for the second half, as well:

Rudy Gay: Dunker Supreme. As for the rest of his squad, yes, there are still questions about Team USA’s lack of post-player depth, but then again, Tyson Chandler and Lamar Odom did just fine. Was it enough to stop the Marc Gasols of the world? We’ll see, but I do like their chances. Their combined athleticism is too much to ignore.

Keep in mind, these opponents have to stop players like Durant and Gay as well, and that’s much easier said than done.

While the non-baseball honks wait patiently for football to start, there’s something else sporting-wise to look forward to: The FIBA World Championship, which goes from August 28th through September 12th in Turkey. Granted, the FIBA Worlds won’t be as popular or fanatically followed like the soccer World Cup — I kind of miss vuvuzelas — meaningful basketball is always a good thing.

It’s true players like LeBron, Kobe, D-Wade and Chris Paul won’t be participating, and because of that, casual fans will probably overlook FIBA’s tournament, but there’s one very, very good reason to tune in when Team USA tries to win the World Championship for the first time since 2002:

The opportunity to watch Kevin Durant burn the FIBA Worlds to the ground.

Further reading after the jump >>

Not to be outdone by the NFL, Team USA opened their “training camp” as well as they prepare for the upcoming 2008 Olympic games (and their Friday exhibition match-up with Canada). In what should be no surprise, Kobe, LeBron and company are preparing like anything less than the gold medal will be a failure, and rightfully so.

Not that I’m trying to evoke devote jingoism or anything like that, but when a team is constructed with these parts, leaving China without the gold shouldn’t even be an option. And that’s not a slight towards the other countries participating in the basketball portion of the Olympics — it’s just those other teams don’t have rosters full of player like Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, Dwight and Dwyane.

While it’s true that if Team USA takes any of their opponents lightly, they could very well be on the short end of a Puerto Rico-like beatdown. However, I would not expect the leaders of the team — Kobe and LeBron (and Coach K to a lesser extent) — would allow the rest of their team to give such lackluster performances. Of course, if their teammates do play poorly, each is still capable of single-handedly carrying Team USA to victory.

Of course, before “Dream Team 2.0″ can worry about the medal rounds, they need to win the aforementioned Group B, which consists of teams like the Yao-led Chinese and the Nowitzki-led Germans. Lets not forget about Greece and Spain either, as both teams reside in the top ten of FIBA’s rankings (Team USA is ranked first).

One of the concerns facing Coach K and staff as the games get closer and closer is the health of Dwight Howard’s cracked sternum. According to the man-giant, there’s nothing to worry about but let’s see if that’s still the case after Howard battles with Germany’s Chris Kaman.

A couple of rebound-related elbows could change the “it’s fine” tune really quick.

Then the USA would only have Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer (although, I still argue he’s not a “big man”) to deal with the rest of the world’s bigs.

An injury to Tyson Chandler’s toe leaves his reserve status up in the air — as well as Team USA’s inside depth.

Obviously, protecting Howard’s chest is paramount for Team USA and their dreams of striking gold in China. There are a couple of other injuries to be aware of as well — mainly Kobe’s finger and Dwyane Wade’s turn as the wounded man. Considering the location of Kobe’s injury, one would think a slap across his hand — a common occurrence in a basketball game — could be troublesome.

As for Wade, has he even been completely healthy since Miami won the World Championship?

Potential injuries aside, the 2008 version of Team USA looks to be as talented and dynamic as any Olympic basketball team before it, including the original Dream Team. Now the key is to actually win the gold before these comparisons can continue.