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Green: Pain of Finals loss 'will never wear off'

Kelley L Cox / USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green will have a chance to add an Olympic gold medal to his increasingly impressive resume this summer, but the something missing from that resume will continue to haunt him for all of his days.

Green's Golden State Warriors lost the NBA Finals - and the proper ending to their storybook 73-win season - despite having jumped out to a 3-1 series lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They had three bites at the apple, but couldn't finish it.

"That will never wear off," Green told reporters Monday, when he was introduced with the rest of this summer's U.S. Olympic squad. "We had an opportunity to win a championship. That never goes away. (But) you got to move on."

Before the Cavs stormed back to win, the Warriors hadn't lost three straight games since 2013.

For Green, the missed opportunity cuts particularly deep, because he got himself suspended for Game 5 in Golden State, when the Cavs looked down and out and the Warriors had a chance to clinch the title on their home floor. They had the same opportunity in Game 7, but by then the dynamic of the series had completely shifted, and Green's all-time great performance in that game went for naught.

While other big players in that series - Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Love - opted out of the Olympics, Green and teammate Klay Thompson jumped at the chance to turn the page and represent their country.

So, too, did Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving.

Green says there's no lingering animosity between the two competitors-turned-teammates.

"Of course it is (still fresh)," Green said. "But that don't mean I am coming into this like, 'Oh man, I am mad at Kyrie.' Number one, they beat us, so you respect that. Number two, we are here for this. It is not about anybody's personal feelings. It is about representing the country."

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