East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson has been chosen to replace Vince Carter in Athens for the Olympic Games this summer, according to a published report. Jefferson, who was a member of the qualifying team in Puerto Rico last summer, was selected over such rising stars as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, the New York Post reported. The 23-year-old Jefferson received limited playing time with the star-studded squad during qualifying, but was still interested in playing for the squad at the Olympics in Athens. The 6-foot-7 swingman, who is in his third NBA season and has not yet been selected to an All-Star team, has taken his game to a different level during the current campaign. He is averaging a career-best 18.7 points in 78 games entering Sunday's tilt with the Philadelphia 76ers. Jefferson is also grabbing 5.3 rebounds and dishing out 2.7 assists per game this season. Carter announced back in March that he was going to pass up on the invitation to the event as he plans on getting married this summer. |
