Anthony Davis: Winning Olympic gold medal is 'number one' accomplishment

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who is still in rehab mode as the result of a late-March knee procedure, is just one of a handful of NBA stars not heading down to Rio for this summer's Olympics, but he didn't take his spot on the list of finalists for the 12-man roster for granted.

Davis, a two-time gold medalist with USA Basketball (2012 Olympics, 2014 FIBA World Cup), told Paste BN Sports' Nancy Armour on the most recent episode of the NBA A to Z podcast that he puts his Team USA accomplishments above all else.

"For me, [winning a gold medal is] number one," Davis said. "You don't really get the opportunity to win a gold medal every year, and I'm fortunate to have two: one for the world cup and one for the olympics."

It must be noted that Davis, a three-time All-Star and 2012 first overall draft pick, has yet to achieve anything in NBA competition comparable to two gold medals, but at just 23 years old and with an undoubtedly bright future, he has plenty of time to change that.

Still, his passion for USA Basketball is evident.

"Just the feeling of them playing the national anthem and them putting a gold medal around your neck is huge. Not a lot of people get asked to play in the Olympics, so you kind of take that as them telling you 'we want you, you're one of the best in the league right now,' and I kind of take that with a lot of pride and honor."

Davis will have other opportunities to throw on the Stars and Stripes as his career progresses, but first, his focus is to dig the lowly Pelicans out of the Western Conference abyss — a daunting task that starts with him.

"We've gotta come out here and play together, play hard," Davis said. "We lost a couple pieces, but we added a couple pieces as well. I'm excited about this season, and I think we're gonna get back to our playoff ways."

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