Steph Curry Talks 2012 Team USA Olympic Snub: ‘Wasn’t on the Level I Needed to Be’

Julia StumbaughJuly 24, 2024

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Steph Curry, who is set to make his Olympics debut in Paris on Sunday, says he understands why he was left off the Team USA roster for the 2012 London Games.

“In 2012, I didn’t get picked because I wasn’t on the level I needed to be,” Curry told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.

Team USA went on to win a gold medal in 2012 behind a roster featuring several of Curry’s current Olympic teammates, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Curry and former Indiana Pacers star Danny Granger were the only players who led Team USA to gold at the 2010 FIBA World Cup but were not invited to the 2012 Olympic team, Rusty Simmons reported for SFGate.

Curry, then 24 years old, said he received a letter telling him that Team USA had decided to go with more experienced guards instead, Simmons reported.

At the time, Curry was dealing with multiple sprains impacting an ankle repaired by offseason surgery.

Although Curry declined at the time to answer a question regarding whether he thought the sprains impacted his 2012 Olympic chances, the ankle issues did end his 2011-12 season early and lead to another surgery.

Curry told Spears there were other reasons he was not part of Team USA’s gold medal teams in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics or the 2020 Games in Tokyo.

“In ’16, I was coming off the Finals run and I didn’t feel I would get the rest I needed to get ready for the next season,” Curry said. “And in 2020, it was a COVID year. And just that whole process, I don’t remember what was going on family wise. But it wasn’t a good time for me.”

Curry added that it was difficult to see his Warriors teammate Draymond Green participate in both Olympics without him.

“Draymond played. He won twice. So, obviously I was watching him and missed out,” Curry said. “This year, the stars aligned. It feels great.”

Curry is set to represent Team USA Sunday during a group phase game against Serbia in Lille, France. He has started in three of the team’s five exhibition games and is likely to again be in the starting lineup for his Olympic debut.