By ADAM ZAGORIA
Zach Edey, the two-time National Player of the Year at Purdue, has withdrawn from the Canadian Olympic team in order to focus on playing Summer League with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 7-foot-4 Edey was chosen at No. 9 in last week’s NBA Draft.
“I have made the difficult decision of pulling myself out of the process to compete for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Canada,” he said in a statement. “Since last summer, I have been training and competing nonstop to achieve my goals of winning a national championship at Purdue and making it to the NBA.
“I have a duty now to properly prepare for all that is coming my way with being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies. The work I put in this summer on my body and my game is critical for me to be the best version of myself. Thank you to Canada Basketball and all the fans for your support and understanding. Representing Canada in the Olympics remains a lifelong dream of mine, but for now, I look forward to being the team’s biggest fan from this side of the Atlantic.”
The Canadian team still features R.J. Barrett of the Raptors, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort of the Thunder, Jamal Murray of the Nuggets, former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins of the Warriors.
Canada Basketball released this statement:
“Canada Basketball was recently notified by Zach of his intention to remove himself from consideration to represent Canada at this summer’s Olympic Games. While we were optimistic about having Zach join us in training camp, we understand and support him in this difficult decision. On behalf of Canada Basketball, I would like to congratulate him on being drafted into the NBA. We look forward to welcoming him to a future training camp and wish him the best of luck preparing for next season.” –
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