Former Kentucky star and current Hornets rookie Anthony Davis has been officially added to the 2012 Olympic team, USA Basketball announced Friday. Blake Griffin is nursing a torn meniscus and will miss the London Olympics while recovering in Los Angeles, and that opened the door for Davis.
Team USA: Anthony Davis Officially Replaces Blake Griffin For London
The world better get ready for the Unibrow. With Blake Griffin injured, Team USA has tapped no. 1 pick Anthony Davis to replace him as a member of the 2012 Olympic team.
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As USA Basketball’s chairman explained in a statement: “We are sorry to have received confirmation of Blake’s injury which has forced his withdrawal from the USA Team for this summer. Blake worked extremely hard in our training camp and certainly would have been a valuable contributor.
“This is another unfortunate injury, but we have to continue to move on and we’re very fortunate to have Anthony Davis available. Anthony offers our team additional height and length, and this will be an incredible experience for him.”
While the rest of Davis’ rookie class spends the next few weeks in Las Vegas, the Hornets’ No. 1 pick will spend the rest of the summer rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world. He’ll gain priceless experience playing alongside the other Team USA superstars, and you have to think it’ll bring him that much closer to contributing immediately in the NBA next year.
As for how he fits with the rest of the roster, it’s unclear how much he’ll actually play in London, but Davis’ height, shot blocking, and shooting should translate well to the international game, so it’s certainly a coup for Team USA, too. The team will miss Blake Griffin’s dunks, but as backup plans go, you’d be hard pressed to do much better than Anthony Davis.
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