Caitlin Clark is not going to compete for Team USA at the Olympics in Paris this summer. According to multiple reports, the superstar rookie did not make the final roster and was cut in favor of other players with more tenured professional basketball careers.
It sounds like the ongoing beef between WNBA rookies and veterans played a major role!
Although the official roster has yet to be announced by the United States’ selection committee, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon reported the news on Saturday morning. The 12 players selected are:
- A’ja Wilson — Forward
- Breanna Stewart — Forward
- Diana Taurasi — Guard
- Alyssa Thomas — Forward
- Brittney Griner — Center
- Napheesa Collier — Forward
- Jewell Lloyd — Guard
- Kelsey Plum — Guard
- Jackie Young — Guard
- Kahleah Copper — Forward
- Sabrina Ionescu — Guard
- Chelsea Gray — Guard
Anyone who watches women’s basketball knows that this roster is probably correct from a strictly on-court standpoint. Arike Ogunbowale, Dearica Hamby, Aliyah Boston, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Ariel Atkins were some of the more difficult omissions. Especially Ogunbowale, who is on fire.
And then there’s Caitlin Clark.
The greatest scorer in college basketball history has a lengthy career ahead of her. She has had her fair share of rookie growing pains through the first 12 games of the 2024 WNBA season. It is entirely fair to say that Clark did not deserve a spot on this year’s Olympic team because of the early struggles— even though the Indiana Fever are starting to figure out its offense and the No. 1 pick is starting to get hot.
However, it does not sound like the snub stems from on-court play…
Christine Brennan of USA Today has long reported on the United States’ women’s basketball team. There are a lot of people who dislike her, and understandably so, but even the haters can’t discredit her sources. They say that behind-the-scenes politics are involved.
Two other sources, both long-time U.S. basketball veterans with decades of experience in the women’s game, told USA TODAY Sports Friday that concern over how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster was a factor in the decision making. If true, that would be an extraordinary admission of the tension that this multi-million-dollar sensation, who signs autographs for dozens of children before and after every game, has caused for the old guard of women’s basketball.
— Christine Brennan
As unfortunate as it sounds, the math does seem to add up.
Clark wants to play for the United States in Paris, obviously. Brennan’s report alludes to the idea that a large contingency of the older generation does not want her to play for the U.S. in Paris because she will cause a scene even though she would hypothetically come off of the bench for minimal minutes.
The old heads don’t want the rookie to steal the attention. They don’t want Clark to be the focus while she sits on the sideline.
If you read between the lines, you can understand what that really means.
Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve serves in the same role for the Minnesota Lynx. She got very sassy online last month over the WNBA’s focus on Clark instead of every team and every player.
One two-word post on X made it super awkward.
Reeve didn’t appreciate the how the WNBA catered largely to fans who singularly cared about Clark. The 57-year-old head coach took a shot at the league with just two words.
Assuming that the head coach had some say in the final Olympic roster and Brennan’s report is true, it is easy to see why Caitlin Clark was left off. Reeve and other staffers from her generation with similar thinking were probably the first to shut it down. They don’t like that the rookie is stealing attention. Lame.