Kevin Durant will not play for Team USA in the upcoming 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain after announcing his decision to withdraw from consideration, citing physical and mental exhaustion as reason.
Durant, who was one of 16 remaining players in the USA Basketball pool, said that he made the difficult decision to skip the chance of representing the country in Spain because he was physically and mentally drained following a tough NBA season combined with his personal responsibilities this offseason.
"This was an extremely difficult decision as I take great pride in representing our country," Durant said via ESPN. "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."
Durant, who was expected to be the main man in Team USA's world title defense, said that he felt he needed to take time for himself in order to prepare for next season. The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar vowed full support to the team and he is hoping that he will get an opportunity to represent the country again in the future.
"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 said.
USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said that they accepted Durant's decision. Colangelo said that Durant was obviously bothered by several things during Team USA's five-day minicamp in Las Vegas last week.
"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," Colangelo said. "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."
Losing Durant is another big blow to Team USA's bid to defend the title in Spain after also losing Paul George to injury. Before the camp, superstars Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kawhi Leonard also withdrew from consideration.
