After 4 point guards who were on the final cut for the olympics, including 2-time MVP Stephen Curry, withdrew from the 2016 games, Team USA was seemingly in trouble of not finding any point guards for this summer. Now we’re hearing news that yet another NBA superstar has withdrawn from this years Olympic games.
According to Shams Charania of the Vertical and Yahoo! Sports, Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard has also withdrawn from the 2016 Rio Olympics:
Vertical Sources: Portland star Damian Lillard won’t play in 2016 Olympics with Team USA as he continues to rehab plantar fasciitis injury.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2016
Most players have cited their own personal issues for withdrawing from the games, but another factor was the growing Zika Virus epidemic in the region right now. For Lillard, he’s looking to spend this summer to heal his Plantar injury and hopefully be ready for the Blazers starting training camp in October. Lillard had the best year of his career yet this year, averaging 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and three 3-pointers a game, shooting at 41%. Lillard would have helped secure a point guard for a Team USA team that is missing Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and James Harden, but it’s not like they don’t have an abundance of players to pick from. Kyrie Irving has hinted he’ll be playing in the games for Team USA and reports are out that the Raptors Kyle Lowry will also join Team USA as well. With Paul George, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson headlining the players reported to join the team, this USA roster is finally starting to shape up.
