Why Caitlin Clark is not playing for Team USA in Paris Olympics basketball
Team USA women's basketball begins its Olympic journey without, arguably, the sport's biggest star as Caitlin Clark was not selected onto the 12-woman squad in Paris
On Monday afternoon, the Team USA women’s basketball squad will take the court for the first time in Paris against Japan, beginning their quest toward an eighth-consecutive gold medal.
The Olympic roster is a star-studded collection of the WNBA’s most talented and successful players, but not necessarily its most recognizable ones, as Caitlin Clark was not invited to the City of Light.
Selected first overall by the Indiana Fever this spring, Clark entered the professional ranks after a historic collegiate career that generated unprecedented scoring output and interest in women’s basketball. Clark led her Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA title game in 2023 against fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese, shattering the sport’s viewership record with nine million eyeballs, and peaked at 16.1 million viewers in an Elite Eight rematch with LSU this April.
Clark and Reese have affected dramatic league-wide growth since moving to Indianapolis and Chicago respectively, with nationally televised WNBA broadcasts tripling last season’s ratings, but the point guard’s former dominance has been temporarily lost in transit. She broke the league record for turnovers in a debut in May, and despite averaging 16.3 points per game when the Olympic roster was confirmed on June 11, she did so with an inefficient 37.3 percent shooting clip and a near 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“Obviously we know the success Caitlin had in college, and she’s had a tremendous start to the WNBA’s season,” USA Basketball selection chair Jen Rizzotti told SportsCenter on June 11. “We feel like she’s been a part of the USA Basketball family, and we certainly hope that she will continue to be a part of that in the future. But essentially it was the committee’s job to pick the 12 [best players] based on our selection criteria.”
Clark’s omission generated considerable outrage within the online women’s basketball community, even prompting Texas Senator Ted Cruz to label Rizzotti and her selection committee “imbeciles.” The Fever dynamo took the snub in stride, however, enthusiastic about a rare month away from basketball and to cheer on the USA roster.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” Clark told reporters last month. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way, of 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’ll be fun to watch them.
“Honestly, [there’s] no disappointment. I think it just gives me something to work for. It’s a dream, hopefully one day I can be there, and I think it’s just a little more motivation. We remember that, and hopefully when four years come around I can be there.”
Clark and Reese stood toe-to-toe with these Olympians on Saturday night at the WNBA All-Star Game, defeating Team USA 117-109, thanks largely to fellow snub Arike Ogunbowale’s game-high 34 points. Team USA bounced back with a tune-up victory over Germany this week, however, and enters the tournament in Paris as overwhelming favorites.
