US Women’s Basketball Olympic Selection Breakdown: Experience Leaders Hunt for Eighth Consecutive Gold

The U.S. women’s basketball roster was officially announced on Tuesday and in six weeks the 12 players will be hunting for an eighth straight Olympic gold medal. With seven players already on Team USA (and another two who were last on the three-on-three team known as 3×3), this is an experienced group entering the Games as the favorite.

Experience and maturity only increase when you consider that the selection is mainly aimed at players in their late twenties; the youngest players are 26 and Diana Taurasi is the oldest at 42. Unlike previous iterations of Olympic rosters, no recent college degrees were included. The exclusion of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark from the roster has been the subject of much debate, and reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston was also not selected.

The next chapter in The Greatest Dynasty Ever.

The 2024 U.S. Women’s National Team is here.

🇺🇸 #USABWNT X #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/BdDki5De5O

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) June 11, 2024

With twelve versatile, slightly older players, coach Cheryl Reeve has a lot of flexibility with lineups and rotations, similar to how the defensive-oriented coach operates with her Minnesota Lynx team. She is known for getting the most out of her players, orchestrating the Lynx run in the 2010s to four WNBA titles in seven seasons. This will be Reeve’s first time at the helm of the national team at the Olympic Games. She was named head coach for this cycle in 2021 after serving as an assistant for both Geno Auriemma (2016) and Dawn Staley (2020).

Meet the players who will represent Team USA in France this summer.

The 27-year-old Collier was the 11th or 12th player on the Tokyo roster, but for these Olympics she is a likely starter alongside Chelsea Gray, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Her game has continued to evolve (which is no surprise since Reeve is her coach with the Lynx) – she is shooting 40 percent on three-pointers this WNBA season. Collier showed her potential to be a statistical leader during an Olympic qualifying match earlier this year after recording 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in a hard-fought game against Belgium.

Copper, 29, is playing the best basketball of her career in her first season with the Phoenix Mercury, averaging 24 points per game while shooting 39 percent from long range as a high-volume 3-point shooter. Unlike many of the other players on this Olympic roster who came through the youth system, Copper’s first time in the Team USA pool was in 2021, and her play has only gone up. Her versatility is accentuated on defense, where she can guard multiple positions, both working with bigger, more physical players and keeping pace with the perimeter guards.

With this trio we turn up the heat.

From the valley to Paris @kahleahkoper @brittneygriner @DianaTaurasi 🔥

🇺🇸 #USABWNT pic.twitter.com/pZc6ZhatAh

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) June 11, 2024

Gray, 31, has yet to play this WNBA season after suffering a leg injury during the 2023 WNBA Finals. However, Team USA said it had been in regular contact with Gray and her medical team and was confident she could play in France compete. Assuming this is true, Gray will be the team’s best passer and motor. For the Las Vegas Aces, she was a dynamic scorer-facilitator, but if her 2022 World Cup role repeats, expect Gray to establish herself more as a primary facilitator, especially since there isn’t another pure point guard on the roster . Reeve needs a high-support, low-risk general, and that’s Gray.

When Griner, 33, returned to the U.S. after her 10-month detention in Russia, she said she would only go abroad to play for her country in the Olympics. That’s happening now as Griner makes her third Olympic selection. She recently returned to the floor in the WNBA after recovering from a broken toe, but even through two games she looks great, averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.5 blocks per match (in 30 minutes of play). She started all six games of Team USA’s 2021 run in Tokyo (averaging 16.5 points and more than 7 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 70 percent). At 6 feet tall, she is the tallest player on the roster, giving Team USA an instant mismatch against any opponent.

Napheesa Collier was a young role player during the last Olympic cycle and now steps into a more prominent position for Paris. (Dirk Waem/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Ionescu, 26, is another potential backup ballhandler who will likely share responsibilities with other guards, but her versatility as a scorer and rebounder will come in handy. Like Alyssa Thomas, Ionescu can score a triple-double. With her long range and quick release, she could be used off the bench to build a lead, or in close games she could be called upon for her reliable free throw success (over 90 percent for her WNBA career).

With no true backup point guard on the roster, the 30-year-old Loyd will likely be called up for some backup ball-handling responsibilities — a task that Team USA will likely take on by committee. Loyd could be in line for the final starter, a spot that remains a bit of a question mark and could be determined by game-specific matchups. She is a proven scorer and an excellent rebounder who can challenge Team USA on the break and distribute or score. One of the many advantages of this roster is the number of players who have shown that they can catch fire even after a slump, and Loyd is one of them.

A member of the inaugural 3×3 squad, Plum, 29, could end up in that starting two-guard spot, or she could be a burst of energy and instant scorer off the bench. She’s a high-volume 3-point shooter for the Aces, but she can also get downhill and finish through contact. With Gray out, the Aces have split facilitating duties, with Plum averaging nearly five assists per game. Her familiarity with Wilson, Gray and Jackie Young is a major advantage for potential playing time, and that unity can sometimes be used as a “reset,” especially early in pool play when Team USA needs to get on the same page.

A chance at history 🥇🥇@JackieYoung3 & @Kelseyplum10 try to become the first athletes to win Olympic gold in both 3×3 and 5×5 basketball! pic.twitter.com/WesRhIXVcj

— USA Basketball 3×3 (@usab3x3) June 11, 2024

Breanna Stewart, F

At the age of 29, Stewart will compete in her third Olympic Games. Along with Wilson, Stewart provides versatility and stability on both ends of the floor. Her three-point shooting has been down this WNBA season, but Stewart is a three-level scorer with a knack for defensive plays. Expect Stewart and Wilson to start regardless of the matchup, while Reeve uses them as a focal point and builds from there.

Diana Taurasi, G

This will be Taurasi’s sixth Olympic Games. Her first came in 2004 in Athens, where she was the youngest player on the team at 22. Her oldest teammate that year? The then 34-year-old Dawn Staley, who – 16 years later – would coach Taurasi at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Taurasi’s deft passing and sharp shot will be helpful, but her experience is irreplaceable compared to any other player in the Team USA pool. “We knew Diana’s basketball skills would resonate with us in so many moments, but we also knew her leadership was something this team lacked,” said Jen Rizzotti, president of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Diana Taurasi, a fixture on the US national team for twenty years, is going for her sixth Olympic gold medal. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Alyssa Thomas, F

Thomas, 32, is known as “The Engine” in the WNBA and is a triple threat every night in the league. She is not the tallest on any court, but perhaps the strongest 6-2 player in the league. The common storyline for commentators about the 10-year vet is that Thomas has two torn labrums (cartilage in her shoulders), so she uses an unconventional shooting form. However, that hasn’t stopped Thomas from being so effective that Reeve even asked her to return to Team USA’s player pool before the 2022 World Cup after Thomas spent several years on the outside looking in.

A’ja Wilson, F

The two-time WNBA MVP has been successful in the Olympic and international game. As an Olympic rookie in Tokyo, Wilson was a standout, averaging more than 16 points and 7 rebounds per game while playing for Staley, her former coach at South Carolina. She will feel at ease again in France as she is surrounded by three of her Aces teammates. She has also added a three-point shot to her offensive arsenal. Wilson – and Stewart – are the new faces of Team USA in an era of changing of the guard, a new challenge for both. Wilson, 27, has taken on the same responsibility on and off the court for the Aces, and she seems ready for the occasion.

Jackie Young, G

Young, 26, was part of the Tokyo 3×3 squad. She was called into preparation at the last minute after first 3×3 team member Katie Lou Samuelson tested positive for COVID-19 before the team’s departure. Young was one of the most improved players during the most recent Olympic cycle, becoming a more productive scorer and passer. She’s a tough perimeter defender and reliable scorer who, like the other guards on this roster, could fill Gray’s shoes when she’s not on the floor.

(Photo of Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, A’Ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu celebrating their gold medal victory at the 2022 FIBA ​​World Cup: Kelly Defina/Getty Images)