Paul George Joins USA Basketball for Training Camp

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Last Updated: Thursday, July 21 at 4:30 PM

Pacers All-Star forward Paul George officially joined USA Basketball in Las Vegas on Monday to begin preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. George was one of 12 players named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men"s Basketball team last month.

Team USA will spend the week in Vegas, practicing for four days (with help from the 2016 USA Men"s Select Team, which features Pacers big man Myles Turner) before their first exhibition on Friday night against Argentina. The team will then spend the next week and a half touring the country, with training stops and exhibitions in Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, and Houston, before heading to Rio. Olympic competition runs from Aug. 6-21.

PHOTO GALLERY: 2016 USA Basketball Men"s National Team Training Camp

All week long, we"ll be keeping tabs on PG and Myles at USA Basketball Training Camp in Vegas. Here are some of the early highlights:

PG, Coach K Talk Exhibition Schedule

In this video compiled using footage provided by USA Basketball, Paul George and USA Men"s National Team head coach Mike Krzyzewski discuss the importance of the U.S."s five-game exhibition schedule before heading to Rio:

Turner Turning Heads

Myles Turner is just 20 years old, but according to reports from observers at USA Basketball training camp, the Pacers" rising star has more than held his own this week in scrimmages against the Men"s National Team. Several national pundits praised Turner"s performance on social media during Wednesday"s practice:

Turner himself seems to be very grateful for the opportunity to compete with the best of the best:

He"s made it very clear that he would like to be on the Men"s National Team one day (for what it"s worth, George was on the Select Team in 2012 and four years later is bound for Rio), and he appears well on his way to making that dream a reality.

PG Perfecting His Shooting StrokeDay 2 Highlights

George looked good once again in practice, as evidenced by this highlight of him scoring over Miami Heat forward and U.S. Men"s Select Team member Justise Winslow:

But PG"s Pacers teammate Myles Turner got the best of him on one occasion, swatting away his mentor"s shot attempt:

After practice, George caught up with NBA-TV"s Jared Greenberg:

Why PG Came Back

As expected, a major storyline at the first day of training was George"s return to USA Basketball. Monday marked his first official practice with the team since breaking his leg in the 2014 USA Basketball Showcase just before the FIBA World Cup. Though the injury kept George sidelined for all but six games in the 2014-15 season, he returned to All-Star form last year.

All the while, George insisted that he would return to USA Basketball despite his injury two years ago. He kept that promise and is now hoping to help win a gold medal for the Stars and Stripes in Rio.

"All the bad that happened to myself on that night, I owed it to myself to come back out here and compete for my country," George told SB Nation.

George later said that coming back from his injury wasn"t even the primary reason he decided to play in the Olympics.

"I wanted to win a gold medal more than I wanted to come back and play because of the injury," George said.

Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird, who cherished his opportunities to represent the United States in international competition during his playing days, has publicly supported George"s desire to return to USA Basketball since his injury. Bird reiterated that stance in a recent Q-and-A with ESPN.com.

"If you love your country and you get to represent them and you can win, it"s one of the greatest feelings, and I wanted Paul to have the same feeling," Bird said. "And I know he cares, he wants to play and he wants to win, and I think it"s awesome."

Day 1 Practice Highlights

PG fights through the contact:

Practicing alley oops with DeAndre Jordan:

Figuring Out His Role

As always, the U.S. men"s basketball team boasts incredible depth. This year, that"s especially true at the wing position. In addition to George, the roster also features former NBA MVP Kevin Durant, former scoring champ Carmelo Anthony, and All-Stars Jimmy Butler, DeMar DeRozan, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson.

As such, George will likely have to take on a different role than the one he has with the Pacers. Given his defensive abilities, George figures to play a prominent role in head coach Mike Krzyzewski"s rotation, but he might not be asked to take a ton of shots with world-class scorers like Durant and Anthony also on the wing.

George, however, is ready to embrace whatever role he"s given.

"I understand what Coach K wants from me but I also know what I need to add," George said in quotes supplied by USA Basketball. "We have so many guys that can do so many things. I pride myself as one of those guys. I feel like I am just adding on to the environment and DNA of this team. Coach made it very clear of what he expects from me and I just need to be myself."

Picture Day

See More Photos of PG with USA Basketball

Source: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/paul-george-joins-usa-basketball-training-camp/