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Following a rushed NBA regular season, Steph Curry announced Monday that he will be taking the summer off from competitive basketball.
Shams Charania, of The Athletic, reported on June 21 that the Golden State Warriors point guard will opt out of playing for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
“Curry had been deciding on participating over the last few weeks, and (USA Basketball) expected him to be out of the available pool,” Charania wrote on Twitter.
Curry Won’t Join Warriors Coach Steve Kerr in Olympics
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GettySteve Kerr speaks to Steph Curry during a game.
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr will captain Team USA in Japan this summer, after the Olympic Games were rescheduled from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kerr said he does not begrudge Curry his decision to take some time off following a historically quick turnaround time between seasons, and a year in which the point guard shouldered a massive workload due to injuries that plagued the Warriors.
“You know, Steph has so many demands on his time. He has to play so hard for so much of the season. He’s 180 pounds. He’s 34. You know, he needs rest,” Kerr said in an interview with NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai. “I’m happy for Steph that he’s going to get plenty of rest and family time this summer, and he’ll be ready to go come training camp in September.”
Despite being a two-time league MVP and multiple All-NBA selection and All-Star performer, Curry has never represented the United States in the Olympic Games. He missed the 2016 Olympics, citing injury concerns. He did play for Team USA in the FIBA World Cups in 2010 and 2014, winning gold both times.
Several High Profile NBA Players to Sit Out Summer Olympics
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GettyLos Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will also skip the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Curry is not the only top-flight NBA player to announce he will take time to rest this summer. Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis have also declared they will not be part of the US team that travels to Japan, as has Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
All three of those players fell victim to injury during the 2021 NBA Playoffs. Davis and Mitchell each missed games and played through injuries in others. James did not miss a playoff start, but was visibly hampered throughout the Lakers’ first-round defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. The Jazz also exited the playoffs earlier than some expected, losing in the second round to a Los Angeles Clippers team that played without Kawhi Leonard in games 5 and 6 on their way to victory.
In total, nine All-Star selections from this season have missed time during these playoffs due to injury or the league’s COVID-19 protocol. That is 50% more than the previous high of six All-Stars missing time in one postseason. James came out publicly and criticized the NBA for pushing players to start the season early in the name of revenues, predicting that widespread injuries to stars could be a consequence.
“This is the best time of the year for our league and fans, but missing a ton of our fav players,” James wrote on Twitter last week. “It’s insane. If there’s one person that know about the body and how it works all year round it’s ME! I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans, wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now.”
Notable players set to suit up in Tokyo this summer will include Kevin Durant, James Harden and Draymond Green, Curry’s Golden State teammate. Joining them will be Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo, among others.
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