US Team Basketball: Bradley Beal to Miss Tokyo Olympics; JaVale McGee, Keldon Johnson added in replacement

The U.S. men’s basketball team announced Thursday afternoon that Washington Wizards goalie Bradley Beal will miss the Tokyo Olympics this summer as he entered into health and safety protocols at the camp. Team USA training. Here is Team USA’s statement:

USA Basketball Men’s National Team point guard Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), who was placed under USA Basketball health and safety protocols on Wednesday, will remain in health and safety protocols and will not be able to participate at the Tokyo Olympics from July 23 to August 8. A replacement will be named at a later date.

…

As a precaution, USA Basketball Men’s National Team member Jerami Grant has been placed under USA Basketball health and safety protocols, USA Basketball reported Thursday afternoon. “

Kevin Love also made it known on Friday that he was withdrawing from the Olympics due to a persistent calf injury. To replace Beal and Love on the 12-man roster, Team USA have reportedly added Nuggets big man JaVale McGee and Spurs forward Keldon Johnson.

Being forced to miss the Olympics is a tough break for Beal, who was extremely excited to represent the United States on the world stage.

“Representing the country is a blessing. It’s an honor. It’s something you don’t take for granted,” Beal said in a recent interview with Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports. “Not many guys in the league have that opportunity. We all know that. So you accept it. You understand that the United States wants you to win, and everyone wants you to lose. We haven’t been. up to what we wanted a few years ago [in the 2019 FIBA World Cup], and now we have the opportunity to get back what is rightfully ours … This has always been my dream. ”

It’s unclear exactly how Team USA’s protocols, or those that will be in place at the Olympics, differ from the protocols the NBA put in place during the season, but the Olympics don’t take much risk in the midst of this. pandemic because the number of positive cases continues to increase in Japan. There won’t be any fans at the Olympics themselves, and now Beal won’t be around either.

The Olympics begin on Sunday July 25 when the United States team faces France. Matches against Iran and the Czech Republic will follow, and then, assuming the United States team makes it that far, the knockout stage begins on August 3.