New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who is still rehabbing his knee after a procedure that sidelined him for the final month of last season, is just one of a handful of NBA stars who won’t be heading down to Rio for this summer’s Olympics, but he didn’t take his spot on the list of finalists for the 12-man roster for granted.Davis, a two-time gold medalist with USA Basketball (2012 Olympics, 2014 FIBA World Cup), told USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour on the most recent episode of the NBA A to Z podcast that he puts his Team USA accomplishments above all else.”For me, [winning a gold medal is] number one,” Davis, a three-time All-Star and 2012 first overall draft pick, said. “You don’t really get the opportunity to win a gold medal every year, and I’m fortunate to have two: one for the world cup and one for the olympics.Just the feeling of them playing the national anthem and they put a gold medal around your neck is huge. Not a lot of people get asked to play in the Olympics, so you kind of take that as them telling you ‘we want you, you’re one of the best in the league right now,’ and I kind of take that with a lot of pride and honor.”The team - who will also be without All-NBA talents Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Blake Griffin and James Harden - is still favored to bring home the gold despite all of the withdrawals.Davis thinks they’ll be just fine.
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