Nets' James Harden Withdraws from Team USA to Focus on Hamstring Injury Recovery

James Harden will no longer join Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics this summer, reversing his decision two days after informing the national team he would accept an invitation to play.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo confirmed Harden would not participate in activities this summer. Per Windhorst, the Brooklyn Nets star will work on rehabilitating a hamstring injury that hampered his play late in the season and limited his performance in the playoffs:

The Nets were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks after seven games. 

The 31-year-old previously won gold medals with Team USA at the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. He withdrew from the 2016 team ahead of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but did not give a specific reason why at the time. 

"This decision was a painstaking one that I did not take lightly," Harden said in 2016. "As a member of the 2012 London Olympic Gold Medal Team, and as Team Captain for the 2014 FIBA Gold Medal Team, it goes without saying that USA Basketball has provided me with some of the most meaningful personal and professional accomplishments of my life. I have been extremely blessed to wear the 'red, white, and blue' and to compete at the highest international level with the greatest players representing the greatest country in the world. I sincerely hope I'll earn an opportunity to represent Team USA again in the future."

It's a bit easier to contextualize why Harden is unavailable this year despite his previously stated desire to return to Team USA.

The Nets guard missed 18 consecutive games with a strained hamstring toward the end of the regular season, then reaggravated the ailment in Game 1 against the Bucks. After playing at least 27 minutes per night in all five games of a first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics, Harden was forced back to the sidelines against the Bucks. He willed himself back onto the floor for Games 5, 6 and 7 but hardly looked like himself, combining for 43 points over the three contests while shooting 11-of-36 from the floor.

Now he'll have a full offseason to recover while Team USA presses on without one of the nation's top scorers.