Stephen Curry and Chris Paul Out For Rio Olympics

Monday morning, news broke that Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors will not participate with the US Men's National Basketball Team at the upcoming Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Mike Richman of the Oregonian has the prepared statement from Curry that was released this morning.

"After a great deal of internal thought and several discussions with my family, the Warriors and my representatives, I've elected to withdraw my name from the list of eligible players on Team USA's preliminary roster for the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil," Curry said in a prepared statement on Monday morning. "I recently informed (Director of USA Basketball) Jerry Colangelo of this decision."

Curry joins fellow Western Conference All-Star point guard Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers in removing himself for the running for the final roster heading down south in the coming months. This leaves Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard competing for what should be three spots on the final 12-man roster.

While Curry has stated that he is pulling out of the Olympics to rest his recently injured knee and ankle, it's worth noting that a couple other Olympic team member have considered pulling their names for consideration due to health concerns surrounding the Zika virus.

In May, 150 health experts issued an open letter to the World Health Organization calling for the games to be delayed or relocated "in the name of public health." Several NBA players, including Golden State's Andre Iguodala, Cleveland's LeBron James and Westbrook have all considered pulling out of the Olympics due to concerns over the Zika virus.

To read Richman's article in it's entirety click here.