Team USA recently released its 41-member player pool, from which 12 players will represent the United States of America in the 2024 Paris Olympics. While multiple NBA superstars and veterans made the cut, a notable name and a regular face of Team USA was left out of the star-studded list.
Four-time NBA champion Draymond Green was one of the superstars who was not given an invite to the USA roster to compete in the Olympics later this year. However, it seems as if Green is not happy with the reasons given for the snub.
Why is Draymond Green not on Team USA Olympics roster?
Team USA’s director Grant Hill gave the reasons for the exclusion of Warriors superstar Draymond Green, who disregarded the reasons implying that there was another truth to the situation.
Draymond Green’s track record with Team USA has been impeccable to say the least. Part of the 2016 and 2020 USA Olympic teams, Green played a crucial role for both teams, solidifying the defense and merging the gap between offense and defense. His efficient and modest contributions brought home the gold medal in both stints.
However, Draymond will not receive the opportunity to bring home a third gold medal for his country. Team director Grant Hill explained that Green’s exclusion stemmed down to his recent behavioral issues on the court, which led to him getting suspended from the league for an indefinite amount of time.
While he made his return, it is clear that USA basketball do not want to deal or entertain any of Green’s antics, which essentially led to the decision to exclude him from the player pool. Several other NBA superstars also did not feature in the 41-member player pool. Names like Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton were all missing from the list.
Draymond has no bitterness about Team USA Olympics snub
Warriors superstar Draymond Green however did not agree with the reasons given to the public regarding his exclusion from the 2024 Paris Olympics player pool. According to the very candid Draymond Green, many players were in better form than him and it only made sense to exclude him from the list to accommodate the younger talents.
The four-time champion also expressed his disappointment in being left out of the team. “Disappointed? Yeah, of course, like, to have an opportunity to play in three Olympics”, said Green.
“I would like to believe that there’s some guys in that pool that I’m just not as good as. Didn’t quite think it would be so many great players in the pool because it just hasn’t been [that way] over the last couple of Olympic cycles. Then you look up and all of a sudden the ‘who’s who’ is there. I’m no idiot. You go with the who’s who and you figure it out,” said Draymond on his exclusion from the roster.
The superstar also seemed to expect a better approach from Grant Hill as he said, “It hurt me a little bit from a fan standpoint as well. I’m a big fan of Grant Hill, and to know there’s been a personal relationship and to tell me to my face that you’re going to need me for the Olympics and then to publicly find out that.”
What are your thoughts on Draymond Green’s exclusion from the Olympics player pool? Will Team USA win Gold again? We are eager to know your thoughts on Draymond Green and Team USA, so feel free to comment below.
