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It’s been a week since Paul George suffered that horrific injury at the Thomas and Mack Center, but it feel as if it just happened yesterday. While George will make a full recovery, he will miss the entire 2014-15 season, which is a huge blow for the Indiana Pacers. George’s injury got most NBA teams and players questioning whether playing for Team USA was worth the risk of getting injured.
Kevin Durant withdrew from Team USA this week claiming that he’s not mentally or physically ready to compete this summer. Many believe his decision was heavily influenced by George’s injury this past Friday. Steph Curry is a lock to make the Team USA roster that will head to Spain for the FIBA World Cup in late August, but that could be the last time we see Curry with the USA across his chest. While appearing on The Doug Gottlieb Show, Curry admitted that he is unsure about his future with Team USA past this summer’s competition:
“I honestly can say I haven’t thought about future years,” he said. “I can only think about the here and now. Immediately when I saw Paul George go down, I did have some bad memories of my injuries and surgeries. Obviously this is a whole lot worse. We hope that he’s going to make a full recovery. But whenever you see that, your whole injury history comes up.”
“Anytime we play basketball, that’s a risk we take,” Curry continued. “We’re committed. We’re going to go out and win the gold for Paul and do our thing over in Spain. But I haven’t really thought about two years from now. I guess everybody has to make a decision based on where they are when that time comes. It’s hard to kind of put yourself two years ahead from now.”
This will be Curry’s second consecutive FIBA World Cup appearance and it seems like the Olympics might be out of the question. Curry admitted that George’s injury has put things into perspective and with his injury history, it seems like a logical decision for him to remove himself from international competition. The Golden State Warriors are probably holding their breath every time Curry drives the lane, they simply cannot afford to lose their franchise player. It is an honor to represent your country, but the rest of the participating countries in the tournament will be looking to beat the Americans and will show no mercy.
Curry will likely be headed to Spain with Warriors teammate Klay Thompson and they hope to return to the United States as champions of the World Cup of Basketball, but their health is definitely a top priority. Curry and Thompson have already made a commitment to the USA Basketball program this summer, but moving forward don’t be surprised if this is the last time we see them wearing red, white and blue.