Men’s basketball team to play in Oakland
The Warriors announced Monday that Oracle Arena will host one of five exhibition games featuring the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team this summer.
The U.S. squad, which includes the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala among its 31 finalists for 12 roster spots, will play China in Oakland on July 26 as part of the USA Basketball Showcase.
Tickets for the Oracle Arena game go on sale Tuesday for Warriors season-ticket holders and Friday for the general public. More information is available at www.warriors.com.
The Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 5-21, with men’s basketball play ending Aug. 21.
The U.S. team’s other Showcase games are:
July 22 in Las Vegas against Argentina
July 24 in Los Angeles against China
July 29 in Chicago against Venezuela
Aug. 1 in Houston against Nigeria Women’s basketball: Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker, a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner and twotime WNBA MVP, was left off the U.S. roster for the Rio Games, according to people familiar with the decision.
Parker, 30, was informed last week of USA Basketball’s decision not to include her for Rio, the Associated Press reported. The roster is expected to be announced Wednesday.
Parker helped the U.S. win gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was the team’s leading rebounder in the London Games four years ago and last season averaged 19.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and a career-high 6.3 assists in WNBA play.
With Parker off the team, it is likely that Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart, who play the same position as Parker, will make their first Olympic rosters.
Delle Donne won the WNBA’s MVP award last year and Stewart helped Connecticut win a fourth straight NCAA championship this month. She was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft.
USA Basketball declined comment. Golf: South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner, became the fourth major champion to decide against playing in the Olympics. He joins South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen (2010 British Open), Australia’s Adam Scott (2013 Masters) and Fiji’s Vijay Singh (1998 and 2004 PGA Championship, 2000 Masters) in eschewing the Rio Games.
Golf was last part of the Olympics in 1904.
South African Olympic golf captain Gary Player said he was “sad and disappointed” by top players withdrawing.
“South Africa had a great team, but now obviously, it will not be as good,” Player said in a statement. “Players withdrawing hurt the game of golf. I was sorry to hear that Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have withdrawn their names from consideration. They have been playing outstanding golf lately. This certainly impacts South Africa’s chances to win a gold medal.
“No doubt they would have made our team even stronger.”