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USA Basketball is seeking its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer and the first step will be at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium from Feb. 8-11. The 12-player list for that tournament will be the first guess at the team that will defend the Americans’ gold medal in Paris.
Based on the 18 players invited to the national team camp from February 2-4 in Brooklyn, New York, the committee has a very challenging task of selecting that final roster, a decision that will be further complicated by the current collegium. . — Primarily Caitlin Clark, but USA Basketball legends Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink could also factor in here — who will turn professional at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The final roster will ultimately make a statement about what the committee values: youth and future or experience and proven success. USA Basketball has generally balanced old and young on the international team so that younger players can carry the torch and preserve the culture. To include – or not to include – Clark has presented the committee with a unique dilemma given the abundance of options.
There will be 18 athletes in the camp with 🇺🇸 #USABWNT In preparation for February 2-4 #FIBAOQT 🇧🇪In Antwerp.
– USA Basketball (@usabasketball) 23 January 2024
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Clark is Diana Taurasi, one of eight Tokyo 2021 Olympians who have returned to the national team pool. Taurasi is trying to become the first basketball player of either gender to appear in six Olympics. She will be the oldest basketball Olympian ever and the third American woman in any sport to compete in six Games. Assuming Taurasi is healthy, he is ready to return to the roster. The 41-year-old also participated in the USA Basketball College Barnstorming Tour in November against Tennessee and Duke, which probably wasn’t mandatory for a player with his pedigree.
Along with Taurasi, the Tokyo team includes Ariel Atkins, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Brittany Griner, Jewel Loyd, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson. Atkins is the only one of those returnees — other than Griner, who has aggravating circumstances, and another lock to suit up in the red, white and blue if he chooses — whose play has declined since the last Olympiad. , but given that he also played for the United States during the 2022 FIBA World Cup, Atkins will likely be prioritized by the committee. However, his status as a 2024 Olympian is perhaps the weakest of these eight players.
This leaves a maximum of five, and possibly four, spots for new blood, and competition is fierce. Kahleh Copper, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Kelsey Plum, and Alyssa Thomas were all additionally part of the World Cup squad. Ionescu averaged the fewest minutes in Australia, but she, Thomas and Plum have all been All-WNBA selections within the last two seasons, with the latter two finishing in the top five in MVP voting. Plum’s history with three-on-three teams should also give her a leg up with the committee, which brings us to her fellow gold medalists: Elisha Gray and Jackie Young in that sport’s debut in 2021. Both players look so good that they could be left off the roster, especially Young, but that’s always the case with the U.S. national team.
All seven of those players will be eligible selections for the Olympics, and that doesn’t even include Aliyah Boston, Rhyne Howard and Arike Ogunbowale – three invitees from the youth camp. What Boston has done is have one of the most decorated college careers in recent memory, collecting multiple gold medals for the US at the youth level, while earning Player of the Year honors and appearing in the WNBA All-Star Game. Have to start. Frankly, Boston seems like another lock to fill the sixth frontcourt spot behind Wilson, Stewart, Griner, Thomas and Collier. Howard and Ogunbowale – both All-Stars who would be the leading scorers for any other national team in the world – are probably looking on the outside until the 2028 Olympics.
Then, there is the question of youth. The No. 1 picks in the 2004, 2008 and 2016 WNBA drafts made Olympic teams rookies (Nneka Ogwumike’s omission in 2012 was curious, and her absence from subsequent Olympic rosters makes that omission even more ridiculous), And an equally loaded draft class is on deck to carry on that tradition. The youngsters take their place at the end of the roster and then become future leaders. Wilson has talked about learning standard-setting methods from Taurasi and Sue Bird, which she applied in practice with Stewart at the last World Cup.
It would make sense for Clark to be the newest talent to take his place as Team USA’s 12th man, but 2004 No. 1 pick Taurasi is still in the running, so there may not be enough room. Perhaps the committee will take solace in representing the current generation in Boston while a group of old guards compete in the backcourt. It will be very difficult to figure out the three spots between Atkins, Copper, Elisha Gray, Ionescu, Ogunbowale, Plum and Young without adding Clark into the mix.
Then again, the Caitlin Clark effect is real. How might USA Basketball choose to capitalize on the immense popularity of one of the game’s biggest stars, when whoever replaces him doesn’t get to play many minutes anyway? The Olympics are the largest showcase of women’s basketball worldwide. If the selection committee wants to maintain the momentum being generated by the game at the state level, a player like Clarke is at that level.
Whether Clarke gets a place or not, there will be a lot of superstars in the national team. And whatever combination of these players suits up in Paris, the United States will be the overwhelming favorite. However, the specific composition of this roster will reflect what the committee prioritizes, whether it be national team history, domestic success, youth/veterans balance or the most marketable names. All those possibilities are on the table.
(Photo of Caitlin Clark: Mark Piscotti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
