Caitlin Clark Snubbed from Team USA Roster for Summer Olympics

The 2024 Summer Olympics are just around the corner, and the excitement is building up. However, for Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, the excitement has been dampened. According to sources, Clark is expected to be left off the 12-player Team USA women’s basketball roster for the upcoming Summer Olympics.

The US women’s basketball team is known for its dominance on the court.

The main roster indicates a preference for veterans, with the selection of A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu, Chelsea Gray, and Kahleah Copper. Seven of the 12 players have Olympic five-on-five experience, and two more have 3x3 experience, leaving only three first-time Olympians – Thomas, Copper, and Ionescu.

“The reality is the U.S. women’s basketball team, winners of seven consecutive Olympic gold medals, is the strongest collection of basketball talent in the world.” - Source

Diana Taurasi will be participating in her sixth Olympics, breaking an all-time international record.

Selected players began receiving their Team USA Olympics jerseys recently. Taurasi, who will be 42 when the Games start, will be participating in her sixth Olympics, breaking an all-time international record she held with five other players, men and women. Stewart, a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP, will be competing in her third Olympics.

Breanna Stewart is a two-time WNBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP.

Aliyah Boston, Clark’s Fever teammate and last year’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, is another young talent notably left off the roster. If one of the 12 cannot play, Clark, Brionna Jones, and Boston would likely be alternates, sources said, depending on the position.

Aliyah Boston is another young talent left off the roster.

Clark is coming off a historic NCAA career at Iowa, where she became the Division I all-time leading scorer and won two National Player of the Year awards. On Friday, she hit seven 3-pointers and matched her WNBA career-high with 30 points in a win over the Washington Mystics.

Caitlin Clark is coming off a historic NCAA career at Iowa.

In March, Clark was one of 14 players to receive an invitation to the U.S. national team’s final training camp ahead of the Summer Games. The roster was selected by the women’s basketball committee, which includes South Carolina coach and former Team USA coach Dawn Staley, three-time Olympian and LSU assistant Seimone Augustus, two-time Olympian and Old Dominion coach Delisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti, and WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin.

The WNBA is the premier women’s basketball league in the world.

With four members of the Las Vegas Aces, this 2024 Olympic roster is reminiscent of the 2016 Olympic roster. Is Clark’s absence a surprise? Not entirely. The reality is the U.S. women’s basketball team is the strongest collection of basketball talent in the world. Many of them have played together in the WNBA or in Olympic cycles.

The Las Vegas Aces have four members on the Olympic roster.

Clark, because of her college season, never participated at a senior national team camp this cycle, perhaps creating some questions about how she would fit in on the court. The roster is full of continuity – consider the four Aces players and three Mercury players on the roster. It’s also hard to imagine her slow start to the WNBA season didn’t impact the decision.

Clark’s slow start to the WNBA season may have impacted the decision.

Though Clark has experienced some highs – on Friday night, for instance, she became the first player in WNBA history with 200 points and 75 assists through her first 12 games – she also leads the WNBA with 67 turnovers, 29 more than any other player. Her 32.7 percent 3-point shooting clip is also lower than many expected.

Caitlin Clark has experienced some highs and lows in her WNBA career.

Still, in leaving Clark off the roster, the Olympic committee appears to be accepting lower television ratings than if Clark was on the team. However, the selection committee’s roster construction philosophy is notable. The 2028 Olympic roster almost assuredly will be the favorite entering the 2028 Olympics as well.

The 2028 Olympic roster will likely be the favorite entering the 2028 Olympics.

Could Clark still participate? One of the questions that remains unanswered is whether Gray will be available for the Olympics. She suffered a lower-leg injury in Game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals and is yet to play this WNBA season. However, she participated at the U.S. Olympic training camp in Cleveland, and if healthy, she likely will be the starting point guard. In theory, Clark potentially could replace Gray or sub in if any other injuries occur before the Olympics. However, once the action begins, Clark, Jones, or Boston cannot participate, even if a player gets injured during competition.

Chelsea Gray’s availability for the Olympics is still uncertain.