London Olympics: NBA star Ben Gordon will not represent team GB

NBA star Ben Gordon will not represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games in London this summer, after failing to report to the team’s training camp in Houston, Texas.

London-born Gordon had been named in Chris Finch’s squad which flew to the UK overnight, but they arrived at Heathrow without the shooting guard.

Earlier this week, Gordon was traded by the Detroit Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats, and that appears to have been a key element in his decision.

GB Basketball performance director Chris Spice said: “We always thought that it would go long so we kept the door open as long as we could.

“We knew he might be traded and that it would impact on us, so we always said to him just join us as soon as you can before the end of the month, before we left Houston and before we had to get the team into the Olympic association which we did yesterday.

“We had been in correspondence with his people, and one day he was in, one day he was out. In the end it was a very difficult decision, but he felt he couldn’t commit. We are where we are and now we focus on the guys we have here.

“Obviously it’s really disappointing as he’s a world-class player who would have made a huge difference to our team.

“But we’re still going to put our strongest ever team out there, and Ben coming over was always going to be a bonus. We’re confident in the guys that we have.”