Bradley Beal Declines Invite to Play in Rio 2016 Olympics
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal will not represent his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as he declined Team USA's invite Friday.
Beal released the following statement regarding his decision to pass up the Olympics:
"I could not be more grateful for the invitation to represent my country, as it is the ultimate honor; however, it is with deep regret that I have declined the opportunity to participate with Team USA this summer in Rio. I have made the decision to dedicate this summer to getting in the best physical shape of my life and feel it is imperative that I stay true to my plan so I can be at my very best supporting my coaches and teammates for the upcoming season. I wish Team USA nothing but great success and I hope to earn another opportunity to represent my country in the near future.
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ESPN's Marc Stein first reported on Friday that the 22-year-old had received an invitation, but his participation was uncertain due to his status as a restricted free agent.
According to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, the former University of Florida standout recently discussed the importance of landing a max contract this offseason:
"I want to be valued the right way. I feel like I'm a max player and that's what I'm looking for. If Washington can't meet that requirement then I may be thinking elsewhere. I'm pretty sure that they probably won't [let me go]. At the end of the day, that's where I want to be. I think a deal will probably get done but you just never know.
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Beal has dealt with myriad injuries in recent years, and rather than risking another in Rio, he instead decided to focus on his NBA future and not jeopardize a potentially huge contract.
Despite being in the league for just four seasons, Beal has already missed 81 games over the course of his career, including 27 in 2015-16.
Beal was highly effective when on the floor last season, averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also had his most efficient campaign from a shooting perspective with a field-goal percentage of 44.9 percent.
Three-point shooting is perhaps the main attribute that appealed to the USA Basketball, though, as Beal has a career mark of 39.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite having yet to make an All-Star team, Beal became an option for the United States men's basketball team due to a number of high-profile players deciding against playing in the Olympics.
In terms of only guards, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, John Wall, Dwyane Wade, Damian Lillard and James Harden have all declared themselves out, per Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
That left Beal with what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but with such a huge offseason ahead of him, he was unwilling to take it.
Team USA will be forced to refocus with Beal out of the picture, but it is fortunate enough to have great shooters such as Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Paul George already in the fold, which ensures it will maintain its status as the gold-medal favorite.
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