Kyrie Irving is frustrated at a former Duke basketball legend for not giving him the chance to compete for a roster spot on Team USA this summer for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Grant Hill, a Blue Devil icon and the managing director for USA Basketball, announced the 12-player roster last week which included the brightest stars of the NBA, such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry.
“I would have loved to (play for Team USA)," Irving said last week before the Dallas Mavericks began its postseason.
"I wish my brothers well, I just didn’t fit into this team and I think the deliberating process was a tough one."
Kyrie Irving was the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 2014, the same year in which he was named as the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA World Cup. He helped lead the Americans to gold medals at the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
He was one of the 41-player pool in which the roster was picked from, but didn't have a chance to prove himself on the court with his peers.
"I grew up in a time where we actually had to try out for USAB and we did meetup as a group and as peers and there was a mutual respect we earned from one another in trying out and then seeing what five meshed well," he continued.
Kyrie Irving gets asked about not being on the roster for Team USA 👀 thoughts ? pic.twitter.com/V9Kn7ETaaB
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) April 18, 2024
"I kind of miss those days of being able to get everybody together, break bread, and then compete against one another and then the deliberation process happens at the end of the four day, or five day, process."
Kawhi Leonard was the final player named to the roster by Grant Hill.
Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game this season for the Mavericks on 41.1-percent shooting from 3-point range.
In 17 total games competing with the USA men's basketball National Team, he averaged 11.8 points and 4.2 assists per game on 48.9-percent shooting from distance.
Former Blue Devil Jayson Tatum was selected to the Team USA roster and there still could be an outside chance that Kyrie Irving is named to the team if a player is unable to participate due to an injury prior to the Olympic Games beginning.