Damian Lillard added to list of finalists for Team USA Olympic roster

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has grown accustomed to being omitted from rosters. He was one of the final cuts from USA's FIBA World Cup squad in 2014, as well as a noticeable snub from the past two Western Conference All-Star teams, although he was ultimately named an injury replacement in 2015.

The 25-year-old Oakland, Calif., native was not named one of the 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, mainly because he wasn't interested, having not participated in the mandatory minicamp in Las Vegas last summer.

It appears that his mindset as it pertains to being a part of the team has changed, though. After talking with USA Men's National Team's managing director Jerry Colangelo, Lillard has officially been named the 31st finalist for a shot at being a part of the official 12-man roster in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"I recently received a call from Damian, and during our conversation he expressed his desire to be considered for the U.S. Olympic Team and to remain involved with the USA National Team in the future as well," Colangelo said.

"Both Mike (Krzyzewski) and I feel like Damian is playing at a very high level and that he should be added to our list of Olympic finalists. Damian has been a member of the USA National Team since 2014, and he participated in National Team training camps in 2013 and 2014, so he does have equity in USA Basketball, which is always important to me."

List of Finalists

Lillard is currently having the best season of his four-year career, averaging 24.2 points (sixth in NBA) on 41.8 percent shooting and 36.3 percent from deep, as well as 7.3 assists (sixth), 4.4 rebounds, and 0.9 steals with a PER of 21.7.