	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

USA BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 27, 2016

Carmelo Anthony

Q. How hard was this decision to come back to USA Basketball and what does this mean for you?
CARMELO ANTHONY: It was a very difficult decision to make. Kind of taking everything into consideration and going back for four and then just going over the safety that's down there in Brazil and the economy and what that really means. There were a lot of things that came into play in making this decision.

Q. Is part of you just thinking about resting your body for the regular season and skipping it?
CARMELO ANTHONY: The way I look at it, I was training anyway, you know what I mean? So why not train with the best? That's the way that I had to put it in order for me to kind of make this decision.

Q. What actually led you‑‑ you mentioned the factors that might have led you to not play. What led you to do it?
CARMELO ANTHONY: Just family. We can try to downplay the Zika thing as much as we want, but it is what it is. I don't think anybody really has the answers to how to control that, but all of those things came into play.

Q. What led you to decide this is the right thing to do though?
CARMELO ANTHONY: I really had to sit down with just kind of family. I talked to numerous doctors and people that were already over there. I talked to people that are actually from Brazil, and I had to really put in perspective from a basketball standpoint is this something that I really want to do going back for Olympics, having an opportunity to win my third gold medal, so all of those came into play.

Q. So the Zika virus, that was something you discussed with doctors?
CARMELO ANTHONY: Yeah, I've talked to our team doctors, I've talked to other doctors who have been over there, my wife, dealing with that conversation, knowing them not having a chance to come over there and be a part of this whole situation or this history that we're trying to make.

Q. What do you think of this team? A lot of new faces who you haven't played with before in the Olympics.
CARMELO ANTHONY: It feels good. Today was the first day we got a chance to mingle and talk and hear everybody's opinion and take on this situation.
As far as the talent goes and the level of play, I'm pretty sure that's still going to be the same. We don't have as many of the big named guys that we've had before, but I think so far this is a great group of guys, and they're hungry. They want to play.

Q. What was your thought, we talked to you this time last year about how you and LeBron (No Microphone) about how you'll be one of the first guys to do it four times.
CARMELO ANTHONY: Well, he's celebrating something else. So I'd rather be celebrating that than this, but at the end of the day his decision‑‑ I don't know if it was because he was tired, his body, playing through the year, through the season, The Finals probably took a lot out of him. But I know for me, my situation's a little different. This is something I look at as a legacy thing too as well. As much as I might not want to look at it like that, it is what it is. So for me personally to be able to go have a chance to win three gold medals and play in four Olympics just to represent the country, I feel good doing that.

Q. Kind of going off that, you said another decision for taking part in your fourth Olympics was because you wanted to feel what success was like again. Why was that important for you?
CARMELO ANTHONY: As competitors you want to get that edge back. You know, I want to feel what that's like. I want to be back out there. I want to be playing at a high level. I want to be playing with guys that I know are playing at a high level. I want to win. So it was almost kind of a selfish thing for me to want to go over there and kind of put everything at risk.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297