After another long, grueling NBA season, LeBron James is reportedly “leaning towards” skipping out on the opportunity to represent Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics, per Chris Mannix of The Vertical.
“While James has not informed USA Basketball of his decision, team officials are operating with the expectation that it is unlikely James will be part of the team,” Mannix reports.
This should surprise no one. James is certainly emotionally and physically drained after winning the 2016 NBA Finals in epic style. The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to come back and win a title after being down 3-1 in the Finals.
And James had everything to do with it.
Expending massive amounts of energy on both ends of the court, he was the catalyst for the team’s remarkable comeback. He also banged his wrist extremely hard during the final moments of Game 7 Sunday night.
Of further note is the amazing number of games he has participated in the past six years — all of which culminated in an NBA Finals appearance.
Nobody can blame him for opting out, should he choose that course of action. He’d be joining the likes of Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and LaMarcus Aldridge, all of whom have made decisions to stay home instead of traveling to Rio this summer.