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Warriors' Stephen Curry Has 'No Regrets at All' for Skipping Olympics with Team USA
July 9, 2021
An Olympic gold medal is one of the few accolades missing on Stephen Curry's resume, but the Golden State Warriors star is content with turning down the opportunity to represent Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Curry told reporters Friday he's "very confident in that decision."
"No regrets at all. Obviously being here, playing golf, having fun with my family—that's a personal thing," he said. "But there's always that itch to play and play on the biggest stage, like the Olympics. But it just wasn't the right thing for me and the right time."
As the 2012 Olympics rolled around, the then-24-year-old was a promising young guard who missed the cut for the final squad.
Four years later, he had collected the second of his back-to-back MVPs and firmly cemented himself as one of the NBA's top talents. However, he cited knee and ankle injuries in choosing to withdraw from consideration for the 2016 Olympic roster.
This time around, Curry almost certainly would've been a shoo-in once again. The 33-year-old averaged an NBA-best 32.0 points along with 5.8 assists, and he was third in the MVP voting.
Players around the league are once again looking at a shorter offseason with the 2021-22 campaign on track to tip off in mid-October. Following a year that was taxing both mentally and physically, it was little surprise when marquee names such as Curry opted against making the trip to Tokyo.
Given his age, the 2020 Summer Games might be Curry's last best chance to taste Olympic success.
Failing to win a gold medal wouldn't change his legacy at all, but it would be surprising if a player of his caliber never suits up for Team USA at the Olympic level.