Staley: ‘Clark’s Recent Surge Would Earn Real Consideration for a Spot on Team USA’
Her stats and overall performance have soared since team was selected
For the past two months, the buzz around the U.S. women’s basketball team heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics has centered around the glaring absence of Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark.
When the roster was announced on June 11, many were shocked that the dynamic 22-year-old phenom didn’t make the cut.
Clark, a two-time Naismith National Player of the Year at Iowa, has been a sensation, drawing unprecedented attention to women’s basketball.
Her play at Iowa, where she led the Hawkeyes to consecutive NCAA championship games and became the leading scorer in Division I history, has been compared to a blend of Steph Curry and Pete Maravich. Despite being the №1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and routinely selling out arenas, Clark was left off Team USA.
In a candid interview on NBC, South Carolina head coach and Team USA selection committee member Dawn Staley admitted that Clark would have been under “really high consideration” if the decision were made now.
“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA and wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now,” Staley said to NBC’s Mike Tirico. “If we had to do it all over again, with the way she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration because she’s playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.
“She’s shooting the ball extremely well. She’s an elite passer. She’s just got a great basketball IQ. And she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game than she was two months ago.”
Clark faced Staley’s South Carolina team twice in her final two college seasons, splitting the meetings with a win in the 2023 national semifinals and a loss in the 2024 NCAA championship game.
Why Caitlin Clark Wasn’t on the Olympic Team
Despite Clark’s massive impact on women’s basketball and her electrifying play, her omission was justifiable at the time the roster was finalized.
Clark’s lack of professional experience made her an outlier among the seasoned stars on Team USA. Each of the 12 players had made at least two WNBA All-Star games, with New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu being the youngest at 26.
Positionally, there wasn’t room for another guard. Six of the 12 Olympic inclusions are guards, capable of handling the ball and leading the offense. Additionally, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, the WNBA’s second-leading scorer at the time, was also left off the roster.
When the team was announced, Clark was still adjusting to the WNBA. Through 13 games, she was averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game but was plagued by turnovers (a WNBA-high 5.6 per game) and was shooting just 33% from beyond the arc. She also missed the national team camp in April due to Iowa’s Final Four run.
Clark’s Graceful Response and Stellar Play
Clark took her exclusion in stride.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” she told reporters on June 9. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way — 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 will be fun to watch them. Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for; it’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
Since the Team USA roster announcement, Clark’s performance has soared. She now leads the WNBA in assists (8.2 per game) and played a crucial role in the WNBA All-Stars’ 117–109 victory against Team USA in the All-Star Game, dishing out a game-high 10 assists.
Over the Fever’s past 12 games, Clark is averaging 18.8 points, 10.8 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. Her turnovers (5.7 per game) and 3-point shooting (34.3%) have slightly improved.
For the season, Clark is averaging 17.1 points, 8.2 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 5.6 turnovers per game, while shooting 40.5% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point range.
Clark’s stellar play and adaptability at the pro level underscore Staley’s point: had the decision been made now, Caitlin Clark would have been in high consideration for the 2024 Olympic roster.
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