Kevin Durant needs Simone Biles to drop her calf workout routine, stat.
While in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, the basketball player, 35, got to watch Biles, 27, compete in person on Thursday, August 1. Sports reporter Nick McCarvel shared via his X account that he ran into Durant at the event and asked him what he thought of Biles’ vault routine.
“That was nice. It’s the first time I’m seeing her live,” Durant said. “I wish I had that kind of muscle in my calves. I’m going to have to get in the gym for that.”
Durant’s remark about Biles’ calf muscles comes after he was sidelined for several of Team USA’s games after sustaining a calf injury during training. The Phoenix Suns player was cleared to return to the team just in time for their opening game against Serbia on Sunday, July 28. (Durant ended up scoring 23 points in the team’s victory.)
While Durant was seriously impressed with Biles’ calves, she too suffered a calf injury before the Olympics. However, Biles was able to power through the pain during the gymnastics qualifiers and was eligible to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.
On Thursday, Biles took home the gold medal after she earned the top score in the individual all-around final for women’s gymnastics. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade was awarded the silver medal, while Biles’ teammate Suni Lee took home the bronze.
Durant continued his praise for Biles by tweeting his new nickname for her, “Goat Biles,” which stands for “greatest of all time.”
“I really believe Goat Biles can catch a lob and finish. #bounce,” he gushed in a subsequent tweet.
Durant isn’t the only one who refers to Biles as the “G.O.A.T.” — and recently the gymnast openly embraced the moniker. While receiving her gold medal, Biles rocked a diamond goat pendant. The Janet Heller Fine Jewelry piece features 546 diamonds on the animal’s body and rests on a silver chain.
Earlier this week, Biles became the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history after Team USA took home the gold medal during the group final on Tuesday, July 30. Biles surpassed Olympian Shannon Miller, who won seven Olympic medals throughout her career. Miller, for her part, could not help but be thrilled for Biles and her monumental achievement.
“I am so happy. My heart is full because I know, as an athlete, what it takes to win a gold medal, and these ladies have been through it all on the road to get here,” Miller, 47, told NBC News after Team USA’s victory.
