Despite having a great season individually and on a team level, Trae Young was not selected for Team USA squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Atlanta Hawks star expressed his disappointment via a subtle social media message.
According to Jerry Colangelo, who is in charge of USA Basketball this year, the staff of the national team made a decision that Young is not the right fit this year. Colangelo is happy that the 22-year-old point guard wants to play for his country and thinks that he will get the opportunity in future.
Via Joe Vardon of The Athletic:
“I’m happy that he wants to play for USA Basketball. We had him in one of our camps. We know him in USA Basketball. He’s done really well in the NBA. But predicated on what we felt we needed, he didn’t fit the bill this time around. He’s a young player, he has a future with USA Basketball but it was the opinion of our staff that it wasn’t now. It’s for others to make the declaration ‘you made a mistake.”
This past season, Young averaged 25.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game as he led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks.
