If you had thoughts of Steph Curry terrorizing the international basketball community with a steady barrage of three-pointers at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, you can go ahead and get those ideas out of your head right now. The unanimous MVP has decided that he will not be playing for Team USA when the Rio Olympic Games tip off in August.
While some other athletes have decided that they're staying home (or thinking about staying home) due to the scare surrounding the Zika virus, Curry's reason for sitting out is so that he can rest his right knee. He suffered a Grade 1 MCL sprain early in the NBA postseason that still hasn't healed completely.
The injury caused him to miss four games during the NBA Playoffs and, as you know, with his team making a(nother) deep postseason run, Curry wouldn't have much time to rest up this summer if he went to Brazil for the Olympics.
The Warriors star released a statement regarding his decision Monday afternoon:
The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that others NBA stars like Andre Iguodala, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James have also considered skipping the trip to Brazil out of fear of the Zika epidemic. One of the things that seems to be raising some red flags for prospective Team USA players is that they have reportedly been told not to bring their families along to the Olympics. They have been encouraged to sleep in malaria nets so as not to potentially contract the mosquito-borne virus during the Olympics.
The full 12-man Olympic roster is expected to be named in late June, and the Olympics run from August 6 through August 21. After Curry's voluntary withdrawal, 28 players remain in the roster pool for the U.S. team, which is, once again, heavy favorites to win gold.
