After long consideration, Los Angeles Clippers all-star point guard Chris Paul has made the announced that he will not play for Team USA this year in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
According to NBA.com,
First, Anthony Davis and now, Chris Paul will not take part in the Rio Olympics, two omissions which will reshape the lineup that the United States will send to South America.
Unlike Davis, though, Paul is declining on his own, citing fatigue and concern for his body. Paul spoke to Sports Illustrated‘s Lee Jenkins yesterday and the two-time Olympian said he’d had enough:
At the 2012 Olympics in London, Chris Paul went to see the volleyball, the swimming, the track. He brought Russell Westbrook with him to root on Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings. He sat in the cheering section for Michael Phelps. “What we do is such a small thing compared to what the people do who protect our freedom,” Paul said. “But when I put on that USA jersey it always gave me goose bumps because you realized you were part of something so much bigger than yourself.”
Paul’s first experience with USA Basketball was in high school, when he played for the North team at the Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was on the squad that lost to Greece at the 2006 World Championship in Japan—“I remember sitting at my locker,” Paul recalled, “trying to figure out how we were going to go back home”—and he was a leader of the group that redeemed itself with gold medals in ’08 and ’12. “Coming from where we were,” Paul said, “that was the best feeling.”
After more than a decade of contribution to USA Basketball, Paul told SI.com on Monday that he is withdrawing from consideration for this summer’s Olympic team, likely ending his international career. “I feel my body telling me that I could use the time,” he said.
Paul was a member of the 2008 and 2012 teams, which also afforded him the chance to play alongside his best friends: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. But this is his 11th season, he turns 31 in two months and, if he’s fortunate, the Los Angeles Clippers will make a deep run in the playoffs.
Davis will miss the Games after having issues with his shoulder and knees.
With a few notable names absent from the Team USA this year, a couple of new NBA players will have the chance to win a Gold medal for their country. Who should replace Chris Paul as the PG on Team USA. Let us know and stay tuned for all your sports news.
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