Rio Olympics 2016: 5 NBA stars who will not play for USA at the Games
With the 12-man USA basketball squad already announced for the 2016 Rio Olympics, there has been talk about the star players of the NBA who are not going to make their way to Brazil. The USA team still comprises of some big names in Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving. But the team only has two gold medalists from the 2012 London Olympics’ basketball team in the form of Durant and Anthony.
In addition, there are five players who have won the gold medal with USA at the FIBA World Championship – DeMarcus Cousins (2014), DeMar DeRozan (2014), Kevin Durant (2010), Kyrie Irving (2014) and Klay Thompson (2014). 3-time Olympic medalist, Anthony, creates a record as he becomes the first United States male basketball player who has been selected to four Olympic teams.
The team has been selected by their head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, who is managing his last Olympics with the USA side. But there are several big-name faces that will be missing in Brazil and we take a look at them:
1) LeBron James
The NBA Finals MVP who helped the Cleveland Cavaliers in winning their first major trophy in 52 years has decided not to go to the Rio Olympics. He has cited resting his body as the reason for not going to the Olympics with the USA squad. The 4-time NBA MVP made the news public last month that he has decided that his body needs rest after a long season of basketball.
The Cavaliers’ player has been to three Olympics and has managed to win gold medals with the USA team in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics. He won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics .
James played 76 times for the Cavs in the last season, and his average points per game was 25.3, which is a pretty good return given his age. The 31-year-old has been to three Olympics and his decision will be beneficial for the younger players who have not got a chance to represent their country at the Olympics.