Paul George Ready to Return to USA Basketball

USA Basketball is currently identifying which NBA players would like to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics. One player who recently announced he is interested is Indiana Pacers’ forward Paul George.

While playing for one’s country is a tremendous honor, some Pacers’ fans would probably like to see him sit out because of his last experience with the organization.

George’s previous appearance with Team USA resulted in him horrifically breaking his right leg injury. His broken leg caused him to miss the 2014 FIBA Word Cup and the majority of the 2014-15 NBA season.

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Despite this horrific injury, George still has a strong desire to win an Olympic Gold Medal for the United States. In an interview with ESPN’s Cari Champion, George admitted he did not want to come back at first. However, he has changed his mind after an excellent 2015-16 season with the Pacers.

"“I didn’t give myself enough time to really think it through. I think since I’ve been off, my body’s telling me yes, my mind is telling me yes, people around me are telling me yes. So I feel good about it. And, you know … I want to give it a shot.”"

Paul George’s decision to stick with Team USA differs from what other star players are doing. Recently, stars like Chris Paul, John Wall, Anthony Davis and Blake Griffin have stated they going to skip the 2016 Olympics. Meanwhile, others like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Klay Thompson are still on the fence.

All these stars have different reasons for delaying their decision or skipping the event altogether. Some want to properly heal lingering injuries while others are very concerned with the Zika virus, which has been a major point of concern in the buildup to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.

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With all these candidates pulling themselves out from consideration, Paul George’s odds of making the USA squad dramatically increase. In fact, he might already have a spot on the 12-man team.

After George’s injury in 2014, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper that George had a spot reserved for him on the 2016 National team.

"“We thought it’s the right thing to do. That’s it. … We didn’t give thought to all the detail. Just that when a guy goes down and all these things, the circumstances, his career passes before him, he’s out for a year, a year-plus, he’s not able to participate now with us — we wanted to throw that out and say, ‘We’re counting on you. You’ve got a spot in ’16.'”"

Colangelo said this almost two years ago, and a lot can change during that time. No one knows if he will keep his word. However, this comment shows how much USA Basketball values George as a basketball player and as a person in general.

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Colangelo has indicated he would like to unveil the 12-man Olympic roster towards the end of June. Hopefully, Paul George will be one of those 12 selections. The two-week Olympic basketball tournament starts August 6th in Rio de Janeiro.