Kyrie Irving breaks silence on 2024 Olympics Team USA Basketball snub - “I just didn’t fit into this team”
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving was not included in the Team USA Basketball roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In his place were Warriors' Stephen Curry, Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards, Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton, Celtics' Jrue Holiday and Suns' Devin Booker. Interestingly, Irving had some interesting comments about it when he was asked about it.
The Dallas Mavericks star has been a stud this 2023–24 season, helping his team secure the fifth seed (50–32 record) in the Western Conference. Despite wanting to represent the United States in this year's Olympics, Kyrie Irving remains focused on helping his team win the NBA Championship, as per Dallas Basketball's Grant Afseth.
"I would have loved to," Irving said, "but I wish my brothers well, and I just didn't fit into this team. ... I have nothing but respect for those guys over at USAB. At this point in my career, I think my focus should be on winning the championship."
He wished nothing but the best for his fellow NBA players who are part of the roster. Be that as it may, Irving's Mavericks will kick off their playoffs with a challenging first-round matchup against Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers.
In the 58 games he's played this season, he averaged 25.6 points (49.7% shooting, including 41.1% from 3-point range), 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds.
Kyrie Irving's interesting comments about USA Basketball's recruitment process
Aside from pointing out that he is not an ideal fit for the team, Kyrie Irving also highlighted that the recruitment process for Team USA Basketball was different back when he used to be part of the roster, as per Dallas Basketball's Grant Afseth.
"I grew up in a time when we actually had to try out for USAB," Irving said, "and we did meet up as a group and as peers, and there was a mutual respect that we earned from one another, and trying out, and then seeing what five meshed well."
Surprisingly, this year's Team USA roster only retained Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton from the 2023 FIBA World Cup lineup. They acquired some senior players, including Stephen Curry and LeBron James, as well as young players like Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo, who have already won gold medals.
What's considered to be their biggest recruited player is 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, who chose to play for the USA over France.
Be that as it may, there's no denying that not everyone on this team has played with each other for a good duration to build a reliable and strong chemistry. This is what Kyrie Irving was pointing out, as this year's recruitment process did its best to form a team that would redeem last year's fourth-place finish in the FIBA World Cup competition.
During the 2016 Brazil Olympics, Kyrie Irving put up 11.4 points (47.7% shooting, including 37.5% from 3-point range), 4.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. He was an important piece for that roster, being relied on as one of the primary scorers on the team with his impeccable shotmaking ability.