James told the paper he plans to use the time for rest.
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Cleveland forward LeBron James is expected to make his decision this weekend.
NBA Most Valuable Player and scoring leader Stephen Curry of Golden State said during the finals that he would not play in Rio. Leonard said. “It’s an honour to have been considered for the team and I hope in the future I will have the chance to represent my country”. “My wife Robyn and I are blessed to be expecting our second child this summer”.
Among the players who haven’t reached a decision yet are Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving and Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson. Many had counted the Cavs out after the fourth game of the championship series, doubting that they could come back from a 3-1 series deficit. While you can buy James’ reason of being exhausted following a long, hard series, others have said they don’t want to risk their health with the Zika virus that has athletes from different sports and countries across the world pulling out of the games.
James won gold medals in the last two Olympics.
James, who turns 32 at the end of December, completed the second season of his return to Cleveland by leading the Cavaliers to an National Basketball Association title.
He is the U.S. team’s all-time scoring leader with 273 points and second in career rebounds with 95.
The Rio Olympics are turning out to be a question about who will actually play for both Team USA and other powers. The Cavs took James with the first pick of the 2003 draft.
Also giving commitments to play are the Toronto Raptors backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
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Instead of ending with the Cavaliers Game 6 loss in the 2015 Finals, with fans shrugging “maybe next year” and a exhausted LeBron James walking back to the locker room, the ending will feature the Cavaliers beating Golden State in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals for the league championship.
