Curry, Green among finalists for Olympic team
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have been selected as finalists for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball team that will play in the Tokyo Games this summer.
Curry and Green are among 57 finalists to make Team USA’s 12-man roster, which will be announced later this year, and play in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that were postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Klay Thompson — out for the season with an Achilles tear — was on the original list in 2020, but did not make the cut in the latest player pool.
It’s unclear how the adjusted NBA season will impact the Olympics, which will be held from July to August. The NBA began the 2020-21 season in December in part to avoid its season over-lapping with the Summer Games. The condensed, 72game regular season is set to end on May 16, followed by a postseason play-in tournament from May 18-21. The last day of the Finals has been marked for July 22 — one day before the planned start of the Olympics.
Curry, 32, has never participated in the Olympics and has stated his desire to play for Team USA in the past. But when asked in December if he
planned to play in the 2021 Tokyo Games, Curry said he wasn’t sure. “Very open-ended question, and I have no idea,” Curry said. “That’s my best answer.”
Meanwhile, Green,
31, was part of the goldmedal winning 2016 U.S. Olympic team that went 8-0 in Rio de Janeiro and, in 2019, had stated his desire to play for Team USA in 2020.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is on the Team USA coaching staff, led by San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.