USA Basketball Team Roster for 2016 Olympics Finalized: Champion Kyrie Irving Fills List of Confirmed Players
Team USA for basketball has completed its 12-man roster for the upcoming Rio Olympics, with Cleveland Cavaliers star point guard Kyrie Irving accepting the final roster spot.
Fresh off serving as LeBron James' right hand man in rallying the Cavs from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors enroute to the city's first major sports title in more than five decades, Irving is set to join Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins as team leaders.
Rounding out the roster are Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and DeAndre Jordan.
James, Curry Sitting
Both James and league MVP Steph Curry declined invitations to join the squad.
The sharpshooting Irving led the 2014 Basketball World Cup winning team, averaging 19.6 points and 4.7 assists in bagging tournament MVP honors.
Team USA goes to Rio as heavy favorites, despite also being without such big name stars as Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Blake Griffin and James Harden. The team will be seeking its third straight gold medal under outgoing coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski and his staff will hold a four-day training camp in Las Vegas from July 18 to July 21, and then the team will play five exhibition games, starting July 22 against Argentina and ending Aug. 1 against Nigeria.
Zika Virus Fears a Concern
The Rio Games commence in de Janeiro on August 6 and run until August 21. There had been some concern that the ongoing Zika Virus outbreak could result in some athletes pulling out of the games over fear of being exposed to the virus.
NBA veteran and Team Spain star Pau Gasol openly admitted he was considering sitting out The Games out of Zika concerns.
"It wouldn't surprise me to see some athletes deciding not to participate in the games to avoid putting their health and the health of their families at risk," he said. "I'm thinking about [whether to go]. Just like every athlete, or any other person considering going to Rio, should be thinking about it."
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