USA Men's Basketball Exhibition Game vs. Australia Canceled

USA Basketball announced the cancelation "out of an abundance of caution," though the team's exhibition against Spain on Sunday will proceed as schedule.

Less than two weeks before the start of the Tokyo Games, Team USA's series of men's basketball exhibitions has been interrupted.

Friday's exhibition game against Australia has been canceled, Team USA announced via Twitter on Thursday. The team did not provide a precise reason, other than the decision was made, "out of an abundance of caution."

Out of an abundance of caution, the USA Men's National Team exhibition versus Australia on Friday has been cancelled.

The USA Women's National Team's matchup with Australia will be played at 2:30 PM ET on NBCSN.

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 16, 2021

Team USA's health and safety protocols forced the game's cancelation, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The squad's final exhibition game before the Olympics, scheduled for Sunday against Spain, is currently expected to continue as planned.

The women's U.S. national team's exhibition against Australia will be played on Friday as scheduled.

The cancelation comes on the same day the team announced Wizards guard Bradley Beal would not be joining the team to Tokyo after being placed in health and safety protocols. It has not been publicly confirmed whether or not Beal has tested positive for COVID-19, and his replacement has not yet been announced.

The men's national team's first game at the Olympics is scheduled for July 25 against France, followed by matchups against Iran and the Czech Republic.