What used to be considered one of the greatest honors in all of sports, the Olympic Games now seems to have lost some of its prestige. For some reason, numerous NBA stars have all recently withdrawn from the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The increasingly long list of stars already withdrawn includes Warriors’ star guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson as well as Spurs‘ forward LaMarcus Aldridge, and Blake Griffin for Team USA. Many players from other countries have also withdrawn, including Pau Gasol (Spain), Kelly Olynyk (Canada), and Andrew Wiggins (Canada).
Well now you can add another name to that expanding list. Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook announced in a statement released on Friday that he will not be participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Per the Thunder News Release:
“After speaking with my family, I have decided to not participate in this year’s Olympics. This was not an easy decision, as representing my country at the World Championships in 2010 and the Olympics in 2012 were career highlights for me. I look forward to future opportunities as a member of USA basketball.”
While Westbrook did not give a reason for his decision, there have been a variety of reasons players have cited for not travelling to Brazil for the prestigious event. One of the main reasons being the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and has been the cause for much nervousness for travelers planning trips to Central and South America.
Even without so many star players, Team USA will still be a heavy favorite for the gold medal as most of the world’s best basketball players come from the United States. Also, we have LeBron James.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/paul-george-officially-confirms-will-play-rio-olympics/”]NEXT: Paul George officially confirms he will play in Rio Olympics[/button]
Follow Us
Subscribe
