Team USA is dominating the international competition with a fantastic roster, including star players like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. However, another star player nearly missed the opportunity to represent his country. Paul George, who was recently traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, discussed an exciting story about his missed opportunity to play for Team USA.
During a recent episode of the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, the former Los Angeles Clippers star mentioned that Team USA’s coach, Steve Kerr, approached him after his game against the Golden State Warriors during the recent season and asked about playing for Team USA.
“Steve Kerr came to me after we played the Warriors in LA and asked if I had any interest in being on Team USA. I said, ‘Hell yeah, I want to play.’ So, I’m thinking I’m in, like I’m part of that group, you know what I mean? Fast forward, Aaron and my group reached out to Team USA and talked to Grant Hill. They informed them that I was interested. I said, ‘If I finish the season healthy,’ because that was my whole thing in LA—I was getting hurt and not finishing the season. I said, ‘If I finish healthy, hell yeah, I want to play.’” George said.
You can hear the conversation At 20:50 remark.
Although George, also known as PG-13 expressed enthusiasm in representing his nation, Hill had a different plan for him.
George Expresses Interest in Team USA But Fails to Make the Roster
George mentioned that he quickly approached Grant Hill to express his interest in playing for Team USA. However, when the full roster of the American men’s national basketball team was revealed, George’s name was not included. The nine-time NBA All-Star questioned Hill about the circumstances, but he was informed that it hadn’t happened this year.
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“Then I’m seeing it on the Gram like this n***a getting a jersey, they giving this n***a a jersey. I’m like, ‘Where’s my post? When are they going to hit me up?’ Then, I ran into Grant Hill during the playoffs in Dallas, and he said it just didn’t happen this year.” George added.
“I understood it; obviously, I wasn’t going to be sour about it. But at the same time, it was like, damn, I was looking forward to representing the USA and being part of that team. Having gone through it already, it was a blast. I learned so much and felt like I grew as a player from that process. So, I wouldn’t say I was hurt.” George continued.
Even though George isn’t on Team USA, they keep surprising everyone by winning all the time. In all five exhibition matches against various teams, the American squad prevailed. They also triumphed in their first encounter with Serbia. Nonetheless, the difficult game is set for August 1st against South Sudan, which came dangerously close to winning against Team USA in the exhibition game.
Also Read: Paul George Gives Brutally Honest Take On His Time With The Los Angeles Clippers
