Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart opts out of playing for Team USA

With the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics right around the corner, invites are being sent out to NBA players to begin building Team USA. One player that was invited, but declined, is Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Smart was invited but opted to turn down the opportunity.

Smart, the 2x All-Defensive First Team guard, suffered a calf strain against the Los Angeles Lakers on January 30th and didn’t see another lick of in-game action till post the All-Star break.

This would have been his first time representing Team USA in the Olympics if he had been selected to the team. The last international action we saw from Smart was in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in which he averaged 6.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists over a span of five games.

So far, over his six and half year career, Smart has missed 97 games, be it be due to injury or suspension.

In 2020, through the All-Star break, Smart appeared in 17 games in which he put up averages of 13.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

The s went 9-10 after Smart’s injury, including that last second loss to the Lakers in which he went down early, losing by an average of 7.9 points. There’s no question that had Smart played in those games, Boston would be in a very different spot right now.

As for the rest of the 57-player Team USA player pool, there are a couple of other familiar names as well.

His Boston Celtics backcourt mates Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown have received invitations alongside forward Jayson Tatum. Former shamrocks forward Gordon Hayward and former guard Kyrie Irving have also been selected.

With the Olympic group stage beginning on July 25th, not very long after the potential end of the NBA playoffs, we’ll see more development as the season and postseason progress.