Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green was conspicuously left out of Team USA’s 41-man Olympic basketball team as the player pool was recently announced. Green is often considered an elite player for his singular skill set, tailor-made for suiting international plays. As Grant Hill, executive director of USA Basketball, explained, Green was left out of the team in lieu of the recent events that led to his indefinite suspension from the NBA.

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In a recent episode of the Undisputed, Skip Bayless discussed this matter and termed Draymond Green a basketball savant. Bayless believes Green has all the skills to prove to be an indispensable part of the American basketball team. However, Green’s recent scuffles with Rudy Gobert and Jusuf Nurkic in the league warrant Team USA not taking risks with the player in an international forum.

“You can’t risk having an international incident if Draymond wants to turn into Draymond,” said a 72-year-old analyst explaining why Team USA chose to snub the star Warriors forward. Bayless claims that despite being an exceptional talent, Green has now resorted to his ‘dirty antics’ and cheap shots of aggressive defending, which landed him in this current position.

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However, Bayless does not deny the positive impact Draymond Green might have on this team. In fact, Green’s prowess as a veteran 2x Olympic gold winner could also help Team USA clinch another gold from the tournament. Using the example of Green with the Warriors, Bayless remarked, “His presence, his leadership, his little plays that he can make, he can make a basketball team function the right way. He is the point forward or whatever position he plays for the Warriors, you can’t tell me he hasn’t helped make Steph [Curry], Steph. Because boy, he set him up for a lot of pretty jump shots.” 

Draymond Green is currently taking this period of absence from play as a moment of reflection on his current style of play. The 4x NBA Champion had recently revealed in his podcast that he had confided in NBA commissioner Adam Silver of his intentions to retire. However, Silver convinced the suspended star to avoid making such rash decisions.

In response to Green’s statement, the NBA stated that the Warriors veteran had “completed steps that demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players.” Draymond Green has now been actively engaging in counselling sessions and joint meetings with NBA representatives, the Warriors, and the National Basketball Players Association, which the league has duly acknowledged.

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Charles Barkley was also feared to cause an international incident during the 1992 Olympics

Charles Barkley was much of a similarly aggressive and physical player, as we know of Draymond Green today. Barkley was unafraid of trash-talking or standing against his opponents, sometimes even engaging in a scuffle during games. Hence, before fielding him for the 1992 Olympics, the popular notion of Barkley caused the NBA community to have major concerns about him causing an international incident.

The 1992 Team USA for basketball was aptly named the Dream Team because of the sheer star power in that roster. In the very first round against Angola, Barkley had reportedly elbowed Herlander Coimbra in the chest, drawing an unintentional foul for the play. Barkley remained unapologetic about his actions, claiming he was hit first.

However, the Angolan made this incident somewhat of a hero story of Coimbra at that time. The free throw resulting from Barkley’s foul by Coimbra was the only point scored by Angola in that quarter, as compared to the 46 points of the United States. In the 2022 book Barkley: A Biography, Timothy Bella revealed how Coimbra eventually developed an amicable friendship with Barkley, with the two even sharing a close bond following the tournament.

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