Home FIBA FIBA World Cup 2014 Kevin Durant pulls out of USA’s World Cup squad

Kevin Durant pulls out of USA’s World Cup squad

Photo: ANTONELLI/NEWS

Reigning NBA regular season MVP Kevin Durant has sensationally decided to pull out of the USA’s World Cup squad.

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward has said that the long NBA season followed by a intense training camp with the national team has taken its toll and that he is exhausted.

“This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country,” Durant said in a statement. “I know that I owe it to my USA Basketball teammates to be totally invested in the experience. After going through training camp with USAB, I realized I could not fulfill my responsibilities to the team from both a time and energy standpoint.

“I need to take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season. I will be rooting for USAB and look forward to future opportunities with them.”  

Durant joins Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard on the absent list as USA’s line-up is fading before our very eyes with little to choose from to play the forward spots.

“Kevin reached out to Coach K and myself this afternoon and expressed that he is just physically and mentally drained from the NBA season and his attention to his many responsibilities,” Team USA director Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “He tried to give it a go at our recent Las Vegas training camp but felt coming out of camp that he was not prepared to fulfill the commitment he made to the team.

“Coach K and I fully support Kevin. His well being is the most important thing to us and we support him taking the time to get ready for next season.

“He’s been part of the National Team program for eight years and a big part of the success we have achieved, and we look forward to him being part of our success in the future as well.”

Durant made his USA debut at the 2010 world championships in Turkey, and won MVP honours, as he helped the States win their first world crown since 1994. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward was also part of the 2012 Olympic gold medal winning squad in London.

The sudden detparture of Durant comes a week after Paul George suffered a horrific leg injury during the USA intersquad scrimmage in Las Vegas, which ruled him out of the World Cup and the 2014-15 NBA season.

The World Cup begins on August 30, with USA housed in Group C in Bilbao, alongside Finland, New Zealand, Turkey, Ukraine and Dominican Republic.

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