Draymond Green Reportedly Accepts Invite to Play in Rio 2016 Olympics

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Green "recently accepted" an invitation to play for Team USA, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported Monday.

USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt confirmed the report Saturday.

It will mark the 26-year-old's first Olympics and first experience playing international basketball.

Player	Team
Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City Thunder
DeMarcus Cousins	Sacramento Kings
Draymond Green	Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson	Golden State Warriors
Paul George	Indiana Pacers
DeMar DeRozan	Toronto Raptors
Kyle Lowry	Toronto Raptors
Carmelo Anthony	New York Knicks
Jimmy Butler	Chicago Bulls
DeAndre Jordan	Los Angeles Clippers
Kyrie Irving	Cleveland Cavaliers
Harrison Barnes	Golden State Warriors

A second-team All-NBA selection, Green averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game during the 2015-16 regular season. He helped guide the Warriors to a record 73 regular-season wins before they fell short in an epic seven-game series in the NBA Finals against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals thanks in part to Green being suspended for Game 5 after he hit James in the groin.

James has been part of the last three Team USA Olympic rosters, but he opted to pass on the Rio Games. The 31-year-old has nearly 47,000 NBA minutes on his body, and he's coming off his sixth straight Finals appearance.

Green's teammate Stephen Curry withdrew from consideration at the beginning of June. Curry cited the long NBA season and his need to recover from ankle and knee injuries in a statement, per USA Today's AJ Neuharth-Keusch.

Green was immediately ready to participate following Curry's announcement, telling Spears he "would love to play." Green had made earning an Olympic spot a goal since last August.

"To support your country, to represent your country, that's amazing," Green said at his annual basketball camp at Cornerstone University, per Kyle Austin of MLive.com. "I want to make that Olympic team; that's one of my goals. I'll do everything in my power to do it."

While it is usually a no-brainer for guys to participate, a number of NBA stars have withdrawn this summer. Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all made their announcements within days of one another.

There have been ongoing concerns about the safety of players making the trip because of Brazil's issues with the Zika virus. Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol has been outspoken about his concern over the virus, which can cause birth defects resulting from infected pregnant women, while men can be carriers who spread the disease to women via sexual transmission.