Carmelo Anthony becomes 1st US player selected to 4 Olympics
Daily Orange File Photo
Carmelo Anthony will become the first United States basketball player to participate in four Olympics and will try to become the first to win three gold medals this summer in Rio de Janeiro.
Humbled to rep #TeamUSA in my 4th Olympics #RIO #UNITE pic.twitter.com/V5wuQe6fde
— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) June 27, 2016
On Monday, Anthony was officially announced as part of the United States men’s basketball team. Anthony is the oldest player on the team at 32 and is one of two players on the team with Olympic experience. Kevin Durant is the other.
Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim will again be part of the coaching staff.
Several athletes decided to skip this summer’s olympics, including Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Although Curry and James reportedly denied that the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil played a role in their declining to play in the Olympics, the virus has pushed some athletes in other sports to drop out. The virus is typically passed through a mosquito bite and can also be sexually transmitted. It particularly can affect pregnant women, who can pass the virus to their fetuses.
The team will play several games in the United States to prepare for the Olympics, which will run from Aug. 5 until Aug. 21.
Check out the full Olympic roster below:
Carmelo Anthony, F
Harrison Barnes, F
Jimmy Butler, F
DeMarcus Cousins, C
DeMar DeRozan, G
Kevin Durant, G
Paul George, G
Draymond Green, F
Kyrie Irving, G
DeAndre Jordan, C
Kyle Lowry, G
Klay Thompson, G
Published on June 27, 2016 at 8:57 pm
Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati