Team USA will have to replace Bradley Beal on the men's Olympic basketball team, USA Basketball announced Thursday.
Beal and forward Jerami Grant (Grant out of an abundance of caution) both entered health and safety protocols after the United States' first victory of pre-Olympic exhibitions on Tuesday. Beal reportedly entered protocols Wednesday while Grant joined him on Thursday.
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The loss of Beal for the Olympics will be significant for the United States. Beal, 28, finished the 2020-21 NBA season as one of the league's top point producers and was named to the All-Star team for the third time in his career. He was also named to the All-NBA Third Team.
The U.S. is scheduled to take on Australia once again Friday night. Grant's status moving forward is unclear.