Why Caitlin Clark Could Be Left Off Team USA for 2024 Paris Olympics
Caitlin Clark is just a few days from embarking on her first WNBA season, after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Her first year as a pro coincides with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and Clark is on the shortlist for Team USA’s roster. She’s made it very clear that representing the United States is one of her basketball dreams.
“It would mean everything. That’s one of my dreams as a kid, growing up. You always want to be an Olympic gold medalist,” Clark told NBC’s TODAY show last month. “I know how special it is to represent USA across your chest. Being able to do that on the highest level would certainly be a dream come true.”
Team USA invited 14 players to its training camp in April. Unfortunately for Clark, she wasn’t able to attend, as she led Iowa to a second consecutive NCAA national championship appearance that same week. That could very well put her at a disadvantage when it comes to making the Olympic roster.
Dawn Staley, who won three Olympic gold medals as a player and one as a coach, is part of Team USA’s selection committee. Caitlin Clark is attempting to make the team as a WNBA rookie. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
The U.S. talent pool is loaded, and as The Athletic‘s Chantel Jennings points out in a roster projection published Tuesday, Clark does not have the history with Team USA that many of the other players vying for the coveted 12 roster spots possess.
“Putting Clark on the roster could be a polarizing decision for the committee because she hasn’t been in a senior team camp yet, and that goes against the ‘pay your dues with Team USA’ ideal,” Jennings writes. “Rostering Clark could also be seen as a bold move, specifically because of the previous shocking snubs we’ve seen (Candace Parker in 2016, Nneka Ogwumike in 2021).”
Jennings projects Clark to make the cut, citing Mystics guard Ariel Atkins, who won Olympic gold with Team USA in the Tokyo Games held in 2021, and potential first-time Olympians Kahleah Copper and Sabrina Ionescu as her main competition for the squad. Atkins and Ionescu were at the April training camp, while Copper was on the 2024 qualifying tournament roster.
Guards Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum and Diana Taurasi are also in the mix to make the team.
Clark certainly would add to the television draw of Team USA this summer, especially if she lights it up early in her first WNBA season, but the team’s ultimate goal is a 10th gold medal. If Clark isn’t the right player for the team at this time, it is absolutely fair to go in another direction.
The selection committee is certainly aware of what Clark can do on the court, though. One member, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, faced Clark in each of the past two NCAA tournament Final Fours, including this year’s national championship win for the Gamecocks. Staley has the utmost respect for the former Iowa star.
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport, and it just isn’t going to stop here, on a collegiate tour, but when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. She’s going to lift that league as well,” Staley said after winning the national title. “Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game, and we appreciate you.”
Clark also will have the chance to prove herself as the WNBA season opens next week. Clark’s Indiana Fever begin the regular season Tuesday at the Connecticut Sun and play nine games in May. The final Team USA roster is expected to be announced sometime in early June.
The WNBA is set to take its Olympic break from July 21 to Aug. 14 this summer.