Veteran International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo would be postponed, likely to 2021. He cited information regarding the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak around the world.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told Christine Brennan of USA TODAY Sports. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
Houston Rockets stars and former NBA MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook had previously expressed interest in playing for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in the 2020 Olympics. In February, each was named among the 44 finalists for the Olympic roster.
But with the NBA appearing to target a mid-to-late June timeframe for the resumption of its 2019-20 season, players from playoff-bound teams (such as the Rockets) might not have had a realistic path to play in the Olympics, anyway — even had they gone on as scheduled.
Harden and Westbrook are 30 and 31 years old, respectively. They won a gold medal together at the 2012 Olympics before each withdrew from consideration on the same day for the 2016 squad.
The two Rockets stars will both be in their mid 30s in the summer of 2024, which might make them reluctant at that age to put their bodies through that type of workload during an NBA offseason. Thus, this cycle could be their last realistic opportunity to compete in the Olympics.
