Olympic Basketball 2012: Thumb Injury Forces Chris Paul Out of 1st USA Practice

The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team has already seen several superstars drop out of the 2012 London Olympics due to injury.

On Friday, the U.S. received more bad news.

According to the Associated Press, via NBCSports.com, superstar point guard Chris Paul left the court on Friday after a thumb injury. Keep in mind, this happened during Team USA's first practice.

The injury reportedly isn't considered too serious, but Paul left practice to get an X-ray as a precautionary measure nonetheless.

This comes after Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh opted out of the Olympics due to injury. The competition for the final 12 spots had already been whittled down to 15 players before Friday's practice, and No. 1 overall draft pick Anthony Davis didn't even practice because of a sprained ankle.

Of course, there is still plenty of star power on the U.S. squad, complete with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Carmelo Anthony—just to name a few. Even if Paul is forced out and Davis doesn't play, that's still a roster capable of winning in London.

Paul, a five-time NBA All-Star, averaged 19.8 points, 9.1 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from downtown in his first campaign with the Los Angeles Clippers last season.

The U.S. men are gunning for their second straight Olympic gold medal after defeating Spain, 118-107, in the gold-medal game in 2008. They finished a disappointing third place in 2004.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said no decisions will be made regarding the final roster until after Saturday's practice.

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