After a few days of speculation, Stephen Curry has officially decided that he will not play for Team USA during the 2016 Olympics.
In a statement released by the Warriors PR, Curry lists “several factors” for the withdrawal of his name, with injuries to his knees and ankles chief among them. As Curry states in the release, his main basketball-related focus over the summer is “my body and getting ready for the 2016-17 NBA season.”
Certainly, this makes sense. Steph and the Warriors are in the midst of their second-straight NBA Finals appearance. With the team gunning for the regular season wins record, as well, Curry has not had much rest this year. Add to that the injuries that he talks about in the release, which have led to speculation about how healthy Steph has been during the past two seasons, and it is almost an obvious choice by the point guard.
Curry may not be the only player to opt out of being selected for the Olympic team, either. Andre Iguodala, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, may also withdraw his name due to concerns about the prevalent Zika Virus in Brazil. Pau Gasol has already publicly stated that he is considering doing the same for Spain.
According to Thompson, however, Draymond Green is more than willing to play for Team USA should he be chosen for the 12-man roster.
It’s obviously a little disappointing that Stephen Curry will not be playing on the international stage while he is in the peak of his basketball powers. But obviously, his health comes first and after two years of playing plenty of basketball with some injuries, it makes the most sense for him to skip the Olympics.
