josh helmer
·4 min read
The 2024 Paris Games are officially in the books.
For the eighth straight time, USA women’s basketball captured gold. It was a thrilling finish, though. Team USA rallied back from a 10-point deficit in the second half and just staved off an upset bid from France in a 67-66 gold-medal game victory.
A’ja Wilson led the way for Team USA with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
It was just the third game decided by single digits during USA Basketball’s now 61-game Olympics winning streak. The others were a four-point win over Russia in the 2004 Olympics semifinals in Athens and a nine-point win over Nigeria in 2021 in the group stage of the Tokyo Games.
With the 2024 Paris Games now in the rearview, it’s time to begin looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
CBS Sports took a first look at what USA Basketball’s roster might look like and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is tabbed as a “guaranteed replacement.”
Clark nearly became the fifth WNBA rookie to make a Team USA Olympic roster this summer, but was ultimately a controversial cut. There will be no such dramatics ahead of the 2028 games; Clark, arguably already the best playmaker in the world, will be one of the first names on the team sheet. For the sake of this exercise, we can consider her a direct replacement for Taurasi. –Jack Maloney, CBS Sports.
CBS Sports listed A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu as “locks” for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Kahleah Copper, Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Plum were listed as “more likely than not” Team USA selections. Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas and Chelsea Gray were tabbed as “aging vets.”
CBS Sports listed Shakira Austin, Aliyah Boston, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Rhyne Howard, Rickea Jackson, Flau’jae Johnson, Angel Reese and JuJu Watkins as “potential replacements.”
Of course, one of the big storylines in the leadup to these Olympic Games was Team USA’s decision to pass on Caitlin Clark as a roster selection for these 2024 Paris Games.
The USA Basketball selection committee’s decision against adding Clark to the roster was met with widespread criticism. USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan wrote that the selection committee airballed a golden opportunity.
Selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti told the Associated Press that Clark didn’t satisfy the committee’s selection criteria.
“Here’s the basketball criteria that we were given as a committee and how do we evaluate our players based on that? And when you base your decision on criteria, there were other players that were harder to cut because they checked a lot more boxes. Then, sometimes it comes down to position, style of play for Cheryl (Reeve) and then sometimes a vote
“It would be irresponsible for us to talk about her in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team. Because it wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S. It was our purview to create the best team we could for Cheryl,” Rizzotti told the Associated Press.
Clark took the high road on the selection committee’s decision to pass on her for the 2024 Paris Games.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team. I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team. I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for. It’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there,” Clark said.
Clark was selected to Team WNBA for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game where she and her teammates topped USA Basketball, 117-109.
Clark is averaging 17.1 points, 8.2 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game during her rookie WNBA season with the Fever. The 6-foot point guard is shooting 40.5% from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 89.1% from the free throw line.
Clark and the Fever resume their season following the All-Star and Olympics break on Friday, Aug. 16 versus the Phoenix Mercury at 6:30 p.m. CT on ION.
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