Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George recently shared the story of how he found out he was not selected for the Team USA squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite his hopes, George was informed by Grant Hill, the managing director of USA Basketball, that he would not be part of the roster, even though he had hoped, and somewhat planned, to be part of the squad:
“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 recounted the moment during an episode of “7PM in Brooklyn” with Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero. George ran into Hill during the NBA playoffs in Dallas, where Hill broke the news to him.
“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…
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.”
