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Keeping It 100: The Reason Steph Curry Is Skipping the Olympics

And it has nothing to do with the Zika virus.

Everyone from Serena Williams to Chicago Bulls' All-Star Pau Gasol and golfer Rory McIlroy have publicly expressed their concerns about participating in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero because of the Zika virus. 

But Stephen Curry isn't using the virus as a cop out to skip representing the USA Basketball team in the Rio Games. Nah. The back-to-back NBA MVP is keeping it 100, letting everyone know that he intends to use this summer to fully recover from the rigors of this season, so that he could be in top form for the start of the 2016-17 season this fall.

The main reason for bowing out gracefully? Getting back to full strength after being banged up with ankle and knee injuries this season.

“After a great deal of internal thought and several discussions with my family, the [Golden StateWarriors 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. I recently informed [director of USA Basketball] Jerry Colangelo of this decision,” Curry said in a statement, as reported by BuzzFeed. “My previous experiences with USA Basketball have been incredibly rewarding, educational and enjoyable, which made this an extremely difficult decision for me and my family. However, due to several factors — including recent ankle and knee injuries — I believe this is the best decision for me at this stage of my career. 

"It’s an incredible honor to represent your country and wear ‘USA’ on your chest," he continued, "but my primary basketball-related objective this summer needs to focus on my body and getting ready for the 2016-2017 NBA season.” 

There you have it. And Steph is making a smart decision if you ask us.

Up 2-0 over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in this current NBA Finals series, Curry and his Warriors look every bit poised to repeat as NBA champs.

If that comes to fruition and Curry skips the Olympics, he'll be coming back fully recovered and ready to attempt to lead Golden State to the first three-peat since the 2000-02 Los Angeles Lakers led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

So, basically, Curry is saying the pursuit of an NBA title outweighs Olympic gold, and we're not mad at his decision at all.

You already know that Dub Nation is feeling he's making the right choice.

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