The U.S. women’s national basketball team arrives in Paris, France, seeking an eighth consecutive gold medal, and there’s little reason to think the Americans won’t achieve that.
Some fans might’ve been worried about Team USA’s chances of continuing its gold medal streak after losing 117-109 to the WNBA All-Stars in an exhibition game on July 20, but the fact is that the Americans simply won’t face a team as good as that one at the Summer Games.
Arike Ogunbowale, who lit up Team USA for an All-Star Game record of 34 points, won’t be there wearing an opposing jersey. Neither will Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese.
“We are not going to press the panic button right now,” reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson said after the loss to the all-stars. “We needed the test.”
Throughout the Olympics, Team USA won’t face a team as good as the WNBA All-Stars because they won’t take on another squad whose roster is made up of WNBA players from the top to the bottom. The WNBA is the most elite and exclusive women’s basketball league in the world. It is made up of 144 of the best-of-the-best players, and 12 of them are suiting up for Team USA, more than any other country.
“The depth of talent that we have in the USA, there’s no one who has anything close to it,” U.S. national team coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Only 12 could make it… Is Arike Ogunbowale playing for any of these teams we are going to play?”
No, she is not.
And Team USA did its best to reassure its fans on Tuesday when it easily toppled Germany in an exhibition tune-up game, 84-57. Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Americans played without center Brittney Griner, who was out due to rest. Breanna Stewart added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
To hammer this point once more: Wilson and Stewart are arguably the two best players in the WNBA, and there really isn’t another team that can go toe-to-toe with this duo.
Between the two of them since 2018 are four WNBA MVPs, three Finals MVPs, a scoring title, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and nine All-WNBA First Team selections. Wilson is barreling towards winning another MVP, averaging 27.2 points and 12 rebounds per game, leading the WNBA in both scoring and rebounding. Stewart and Wilson are the top two in the WNBA in both player efficiency ratings and win shares this season too.
“I think throughout this entire trip, A’ja and I are going to continue to find our voices more in the locker room,” Stewart said. “We have a group of very unselfish players. Everybody wants to succeed and win.”
On paper, the biggest threats to keep Team USA from winning an eighth consecutive gold are probably Australia and Belgium. Australia is coached by the New York Liberty’s Sandy Brondello and features six current WNBA players, a group led by two-time All-Defense selection Ezi Magbegor. The Opals are also armed with Lauren Jackson, the 43-year-old former three-time WNBA MVP.
But Australia lost one of its best players this week when Rebecca Allen suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline her for the Summer Games. Allen, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was seen as one of the Opals’ top defenders and best outside shooters.
Likewise, while Belgium is equipped with former WNBA Finals MVP and 2023 EuroBasket MVP Emma Meeseman, but Julie Allemand, one of two current WNBA players on the roster for Belgium alongside Julie Vanloo, has also been ruled out for the Olympics with an undisclosed injury.
Without Allemand, Belgium dropped to fifth in the odds to win the gold medal on the online sportsbook DraftKings. Team USA is still the overwhelming favorite with -1800 odds, while Australia remains in second at +2200.
Team USA has not lost a game in Olympic competition since 1992, before Wilson and Stewart were born.
Do you think Diana Taurasi is going to let that streak end on her watch as she seeks her sixth and final gold medal?
“We will always figure out a way to sacrifice, to be selfless, to make sure that the end result is to win the gold,” Taurasi told ESPN. “We always have that mindset when we play with Team USA. It’s about our country, and it’s about doing the job.”
