Draymond Green's suspensions played a role in omission from 2024 Olympic player pool
Green is one of four current NBA players with multiple Olympic gold medals
Draymond Green's suspension history played a role in his omission from USA Basketball's player pool for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, men’s national team managing director Grant Hill said.
“His contributions have been significant, and he is a real part of the legacy of this organization for his excellence,” Hill said Wednesday. “But in lieu [sic] of what’s transpired this year, we made a decision to not have him on this list.”
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Chris Paul were among the 41 names announced by USA Basketball on Tuesday. Green was part of the last two U.S. men's Olympic basketball gold-medal winning teams in 2016 and 2021.
Green, along with Durant, James and Paul, are the only current NBA players with multiple Olympic gold medals.
But Green has been suspended twice this season, playing only 16 of the Golden State Warriors' 40 games. He sat for five games after putting Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a chokehold during a November altercation, and then was given an indefinite ban for hitting Jusuf Nurkić during a December game against the Phoenix Suns.
Green's indefinite suspension for the Nurkić incident lasted 12 games before he was reinstated by the NBA. He returned to the Warriors' lineup Jan. 15.
“We all understand and certainly have great respect and sensitivity to this particular period in his career and he’s working through some things both on and off the court,” Hill said. “We at USA Basketball, we want to support him on his journey. We just didn’t feel that playing over the summer gives him the best opportunity to do what he needs to do.”
One interesting aspect of this decision is Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will be leading the men's Olympic team this summer.
Hill added that he hopes to have the final 12-player roster set sometime during the NBA playoffs. Camp will take place in early July in Las Vegas, and the U.S. will play an exhibition game against Canada on July 10 before departing for Paris.
