NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant says he needed a break this summer, though withdrawing from the U.S. national team was “definitely tough.”

Durant stunned the Americans shortly before the Basketball World Cup when he pulled out following their training camp in Las Vegas. He says Tuesday he needed to “take a step back.”

While he does, the Americans are moving forward.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said after practice he was through talking about Durant, the Americans’ leading scorer in both the 2012 Olympics and 2010 world basketball championship, and that his only focus was who was on the team.

The Americans practiced Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at the Nets’ practice center. Durant later joined team members James Harden, Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis on a panel promoting the video game “NBA 2K15,” of which Durant appears on the cover.