Fans were shocked to find out that neither Caitlin Clark nor Angel Reese would be representing Team USA. The basketball community should be aware that the Olympics will be conducted towards the second half of this year. News regarding Team USA’s men’s basketball team and their roster members have already been made available to the general public.
More recently, Team USA’s women’s basketball team rosters have also been announced. To the surprise of many fans, neither of the WNBA rookies has been included as a part of the team. Upon finding out, many WNBA fans took to social media in order to make their feelings on this decision clear. Since this might be a matter of interest, a closer look at the situation could be considered useful.
Who have the WNBA chosen to represent Team USA?
Given that Caitlin Clark and the other rookies from this year’s draft class are the main reason for the increase in viewership and popularity of the WNBA, one might have assumed that she and Angel Reese would have been included on the roster to represent Team USA at the upcoming 2024 Olympics.
However, they were not selected as fans found out after the official roster was confirmed and posted on social media. Here is the list of players from the WNBA who will be playing on the Team USA women’s basketball team.
- A’ja Wilson
- Breanna Stewart
- Diana Taurasi
- Alyssa Thomas
- Brittney Griner
- Napheesa Collier
- Jewell Loyd
- Kelsey Plum
- Jackie Young
- Kahleah Copper
- Sabrina Ionescu
- Chelsea Gray
The Team USA Women’s Basketball Olympics roster has been announced, per @ShamsCharania and @joevardon 🇺🇸
A’ja Wilson
Breanna Stewart
Diana Taurasi
Alyssa Thomas
Brittney Griner
Napheesa Collier
Jewell Loyd
Kelsey Plum
Jackie Young
Kahleah Copper
Sabrina Ionescu
Chelsea Gray pic.twitter.com/222FOOhAAh— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 8, 2024
Since none of the players on Team USA are rookies, perhaps that is the criteria that has kept WNBA stars such as Clark and Reese out of consideration for a spot on the roster. Be that as it may, the majority of fans seem to think that the WNBA should do away with this rule given their current situation.
Most fans think that the WNBA should have added Caitlin Clark to the roster
It is safe to say that the Indiana Fever star has revolutionized the WNBA. After her being drafted into the league, viewership ratings, audience, and even the facilities provided to the stars in the league have improved dramatically. Therefore, many fans believed that Clark should have been added to the Team USA roster in order to make full use of her popularity.
They really hate Caitlin Clark huh?
— JBond 🍌 (@jbondwagon) June 8, 2024
How you don’t add the cash cow to the team??😭😭
— LowkeySportsizRight (@LowkeyRealm) June 8, 2024
However, one could argue that Clark has barely gotten accustomed to playing in the WNBA. Forcing her to gain international exposure during her rookie season might be overdoing it. In any case, if the women’s team does not win the gold medal in the Olympics, fans are expected to blame the authorities and claim that they might have won if they had Caitlin Clark on their roster.
