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Warriors forward Draymond Green’s two NBA suspensions this season cost him a spot on Team USA’s 41-player pool for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
US men’s national basketball team general manager Grant Hill made this clear during a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday (h/t ESPN’s Brian Windhorst).
“(Green’s) contributions have been significant and he is a real part of this organization’s legacy of excellence,” Hill said. “But I think instead of what happened this year, we made the decision to not have (Green) on this list at this particular time in the process.”
Green, who helped Team USA bring home gold medals during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has served two suspensions this season for on-court incidents.
The four-time NBA champion was suspended five games in November for choking Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert during a skirmish early in the Warriors’ Nov. 14 loss at Chase Center.
A month later, Green received an indefinite suspension after hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic during the Warriors’ Dec. 12 loss at Footprint Center. That punishment ended up lasting 12 games, and the four-time NBA All-Star missed four more games while he got into basketball shape.
Green began receiving counseling during his indefinite suspension and was not reinstated until the NBA, the Warriors and commissioner Adam Silver were confident he had learned and grown from the sessions and his time away from the team.
The therapy sessions were welcomed by Green, who spoke to reporters for the first time on Jan. 9, breaking his silence about his suspension and what he was working on to improve his temperament.
“One of the best things that happened to me during the process, as soon as I spoke on the phone (with the therapist), he said, ‘What is this about? I see all the things on the news,” Green said on Jan. 9. “I see everything everyone says. How do you feel and what are you thinking? Because if you are here only to fulfill some obligation or satisfy some public opinion, you are wasting my time and yours.’
“That was the most important thing I could hear for me because that’s not why I was there. That was a very important part of me going into what has been the last four weeks for me.”
Hill cited during his comments that allowing Green to focus on himself over the summer instead of playing for Team USA was in the player’s best interest.
“We all understand and certainly have great respect and sensitivity toward this particular period of his career, and he’s working on some things both on and off the court,” Hill said. “And so we at USA Basketball wanted to support him on his journey and we just didn’t feel like playing during the summer gives him the best opportunity to do what he needs to do.”
Green has played in one game since returning from his suspension: the Warriors’ surprising 116-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 15. Golden State has not played since that night after assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died last Wednesday after suffering an injury. heart attack at a team dinner in Salt Lake City, Utah, the night before.
Green and the Warriors return to action against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at Chase Center.
Although Green is not part of Team USA’s 41-man pool, teammate Steph Curry is. And coach Steve Kerr will lead the final 12-man roster to Paris before stepping aside so a new coach can take the helm of Team USA.
By the time the 2028 Summer Olympics roll around, Green will be 38 years old and nearing the end of his NBA career, so there’s a good chance this was his last chance to win a third gold medal.
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