By Shams Charania, Joe Varden, Mark Pulio, Ben Pickman and Chantel Jennings.
Indiana Fever rookie sensation Kathleen Clarke has been left on the 12-player Team USA women’s basketball roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics. The official roster was announced Tuesday by USA Basketball.
The roster features a veteran selection of Aja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittany Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Nafisa Collier, Jewell Lloyd, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ainescu, Chelsea Gray and Kahleh Copper. The U.S. women have won gold at every Olympics since 1996, and this particular roster of stars will be seen as a favorite in Paris.
Seven of the 12 players have Olympic five-on-five experience and two have 3×3 experience, so there will be only three Olympians for the first time – Thomas, Copper and Ionescu. Selected players began receiving their Team USA Olympic jerseys soon.
Committee Chair Jane Rizzotti said. The athletics The previous experience of the players was highly considered.
“We had to give (Olympic coach) Cheryl (Reeve) experience and experience in international competition, familiarity with the coaching system, leadership, versatility, a deep team,” Rizzotti said. The 12 people we’ve picked are the ones we feel are the best when it comes to making basketball decisions.
Taurasi, who will be 42 when the tournament begins, will be competing in her sixth Olympics, breaking the all-time international record held by five other players, men and women. Her Phoenix Mercury teammate Griner has played in two previous Olympics.
Stewart, a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP, will be competing in her third Olympics. In the year She averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds in Tokyo 2021 and was named the Olympic Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Wilson, another two-time WNBA MVP, scored 16.5 points in her Olympic debut in Tokyo and is averaging 28 points and 12.3 rebounds per game this WNBA season.
Clark, Briana Jones and Aaliyah Boston could be alternates if one of the 12 is unable to play, sources said in the conversation. Boston, Clark’s Fever teammate and last year’s WNBA Player of the Year, is another young talent left off the roster.
Clark is coming off a historic NCAA career at Iowa where she became Division 1’s all-time leading scorer and won two National Player of the Year awards. On Friday, she hit seven 3-pointers and matched her WNBA career high with 30 points in a win over the Washington Mystics.
In March, Clark was one of 14 players to receive an invitation to the U.S. National Team’s final training camp before the Winter Games. She was unable to attend the Final Four game against Iowa, as players who had served the US national program over the years before her did. The U.S. Women’s has held regular training camps for national team hopefuls for years. While not mandatory, selections go a long way in helping the selection committee decide which of the 12 represents the most dominant basketball program – men’s or women’s.
The list was selected by a women’s basketball committee, which included South Carolina coach and former Team USA coach Dawn Staley, three-time Olympian and LSU assistant Simon Augustus, two-time Olympian and Old Dominion coach Delisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA head of league operations. Bethany Donafin.
With four members of the Las Vegas Aces, this 2024 Olympic roster is reminiscent of the 2016 Olympic roster. In the year In 2016, one-third of the team consisted of Minnesota Lynx players — Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Augustus and Sylvia Foles — amid the franchise’s historic run of four WNBA titles in seven seasons. On the latest episode The athletics Augustus of the Women’s Basketball Show talked about how the inclusion of multiple players from one team would benefit Team USA, which will be absent for the final 12 practice sessions before the Olympics. The 2024 roster doesn’t exactly take the floor the week before the July All-Star Game.
Is Clarke’s absence surprising?
It’s not entirely surprising that she didn’t make the team. The reality is that the US women’s basketball team, winners of seven consecutive Olympic gold medals, is the strongest collection of basketball talent in the world. Many of them have played together in the WNBA or Olympic cycles. Clarke, due to her college days, has never participated in a senior national team camp this cycle, possibly creating some questions about how she will fit in on the court. The roster goes on and on – consider the four Aces players and three Mercury players on the roster.
It’s hard to imagine that her slow start to the WNBA season didn’t factor into her decision. Although Clark has achieved some milestones — such as Friday night becoming the first player in WNBA history with 200 points and 75 in her first 12 games — she also leads the WNBA with 67 turnovers — 29 more than any other player. Her 32.7 percent 3-point shooting clip is lower than many expected. Still, by leaving Clark off the list, the Olympic Committee appears to be receiving lower television ratings than if Clark was on the team. – Ben Pickman, women’s basketball writer
Similar to experienced professional players.
What makes Clark’s absence and her Boston Fever’s absence surprising is that the Olympic team often features young players who may not make significant contributions in the short term but are seen as the future of the program. Not so this year, with 26-year-old Ionescu being the youngest player.
Indeed, this year’s roster is loaded with talent. The 2028 Olympic roster will definitely be a favorite to qualify for the 2028 Olympics. So even if Clark, Boston or Atlanta Dream guard Ryan Howard aren’t included this year, it’s not like America is behind the competition. However, the selection committee’s roster construction philosophy is interesting. – Pickman
Can Clark still participate?
One of the unanswered questions is whether Gray will qualify for the Olympics. She suffered a lower leg injury in Game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals and has yet to play this WNBA season. However, she participated in the US Olympic training camp in Cleveland, and if healthy, will likely be the starting point guard. In theory, Clark could replace or step in for Gray if other injuries occur before the Olympics. However, once action begins, neither Clark, Jones nor Boston can participate, even if a player is injured during the season. – Pickman
It is necessary to read
An earlier version of this story misstated whether USA Basketball would name alternate names for the women’s Olympic team. No official replacements are expected to be announced in advance, although three players are considered possible replacements if one of the 12 players in the squad is unable to play.
(Photo: Stephen Gosling / NBAE via Getty Images)