Paul George wants on Team USA in ’16 Olympics: ‘I’ve had a dream of lifting that gold medal’
Back in March, while working his way back from the horrific broken right leg he suffered during a USA Basketball scrimmage last summer — an injury that knocked him out of the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball — Indiana Pacers forward Paul George committed to rejoining Team USA in Las Vegas for a four-day mini-camp for prospective members of the squad that will look to bring home another gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It was kind of amazing. Nobody would have blamed the All-Star for declining to return to the scene of his awful accident, especially after that incident made multiple players (including league MVP Kevin Durant) reconsider their participation in Team USA summer activities. And yet there was George, a player whose meteoric ascent into NBA stardom had been abruptly halted by going too hard at the wrong time toward the wrong basket stanchion, saying he’d be back on that court to work toward inclusion on the next version of the U.S. men’s national basketball team.
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George has since pumped the brakes on that pledge. He’s decided to forego next month’s mini-camp in favor of resting after a late-season comeback that saw him make six appearances for the Pacers and suffer a scary leg injury in Indy’s season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies. But don’t let that recuperation-first move fool you — the 25-year-old swingman still very much wants to don the red, white and blue again, according to David Woods of the Indianapolis Star:
The Indiana Pacers forward affirmed Saturday that he wants to be on the U.S. basketball team playing in next summer’s Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ve had a dream of lifting that gold medal. That’s definitely motivation.” […]
He said he has told U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski of his desire to play in Rio. George said Pacers President Larry Bird, a member of the original 1992 Dream Team, is supportive.
“Larry, of all people, knows how important it is to play and represent for your country,” George said. “So regardless of the situation, I know he’s got my back on that one. And it’s a personal goal.
“I won’t let injury … injury is a part of the game. The last thing I’ll do is let that keep me from making the dream happen. No hard feelings towards none of the situation.”
Right after his injury, as George was just beginning to clear the cobwebs, Team USA’s top decision-makers told him there’d be a spot for him on the 2016 Rio squad when he was ready for it:
Wanting to add to George’s motivation during the comeback from a broken right leg, [USA Basketball managing director] Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski have also already made it clear to the Pacers small forward that he is expected to be in the lineup in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
“We’ve told him we have a spot for him in ’16,” Colangelo told NBA.com at festivities Thursday in advance of the Friday enshrinement of the Hall of Fame class.
Without seeing how he comes back?
“Right,” said Colangelo, also the Hall chairman. “That’s what we told him.
You’d imagine Colangelo and Krzyzewski would’ve liked to see George in camp in mid-August, just to get a sense of how far along he is in his rehab and to see him continuing to invest the kind of time and energy in the national program that they’ve prized over the years. Given the specifics of his circumstances, though, you’d also imagine it’s not exactly like this would start them souring on last summer’s deal. (I suppose that could change if George’s social media accounts detail an awful lot of partying or reckless bodily endangerment between Aug. 11 and Aug. 14, but it seems unlikely.)
At this point, what’s most important is that George continue his rehabilitation and get as close as possible to the stellar two-way form he displayed during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns en route to becoming an All-NBA-caliber performer who could go toe-to-toe with LeBron James in the playoffs. If he can bounce back to that degree for Bird, Frank Vogel and the Pacers next season, then his spot on the 2016 Olympic squad won’t just be promised; it’ll be earned.
“I feel great,” said George, who’s back to dunking off both feet and following his typical offseason training program, on Saturday, according to Michael Marot of The Associated Press. “I still notice some things that are not Paul George-characteristic yet, but I feel good and the good thing is we’re still in mid-summer. By training camp, I’ll be ready to go.”
That’d put him one significant step closer to being ready to go for the U.S. men’s national team, too.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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