By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After USA Basketball’s release of its 41-man pool for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, questions were quickly raised as to why Golden State Warriors’ star power forward and former Olympic gold medalist Draymond Green wasn’t included in the list.
To shut the spreading rumors, USA Basketball executive director Grant Hill announced their side that Green’s series of misconducts in the ongoing NBA season played a major factor in their decision making process.
“His contributions have been significant, and he is a real part of the legacy of this organization for his excellence. But I think just in lieu of sort of what’s transpired this year, we made a decision to not have him on this list with this particular point in time with the process,” said Hill.
Green is currently having an up and down season with the Warriors after receiving tons of penalty hits from the NBA due to a series of on-court misbehaviors.
His first major suspension happened last November 2013 when he headlock Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert while dragging him to the other side of the court.
Following the unfortunate incident, the NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced that Green received a five-game suspension.
After the Gobert altercation, Green failed to gather himself against the Phoenix Suns last December 2023 when he was whistled for a Flagrant 2 foul after the referees caught him swinging his arm that hit Nurkic’s face.
Due to the severity of Green’s actions, the NBA decided to suspend him for three weeks. Aside from his suspension, he also underwent counseling arranged by the league committee.
Leading the 41-man pool are former Olympic gold medalists LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, James Harden, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Devin Booker, and Bam Adebayo.
Also included in the list is Golden State Warriors superstar and NBA multi-champion Stephen Curry who is yet to win an Olympic gold medal for USA.
USA Basketball also tapped the services of the recent members of the national team that competed during the FIBA World Cup, Paolo Banchero, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Brandon Ingram, Walker Kessler, Cam Johnson, Bobby Portis, Josh Hart, Tyrese Haliburton, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Austin Reaves.
Completing the 41-man pool are Trae Young, Derrick White, Duncan Robinson, Donovan Mitchell, Kawhi Leonard, Chet Holmgren, Tyler Herro, Aaron Gordon, De’Aaron Fox, Joel Embiid, Alex Caruso, Jaylen Brown, Scottie Barnes, Desmond Bane, and Jarrett Allen.
