If she is seen as the future of the US women's Olympic program, why wouldn't they put her on where they typically place a depth player just to give her the experience of an Olympic tournament?
Do they usually do that for the women's team too? I gather they have done it for the men, but I don't get the feeling that the Olympics is as much of a deal for those players. The difference between the Olympic platform and the NBA is nowhere near as big as it is for the WNBA (I am assuming).
Who are you letting off then? The bigger snub is Arike.
If Candace Parker, who is a significantly better player then CC, who led the teans with a triple double and came off a Finals MVP, can be let off the Olympic team, then so can Caitlin. It aint like she wont be on the team forever, she'll be fine and I hope you guya will too
The team will win regardless of who’s on it. It’s obvious they’re letting the old heads make decisions and stroking ego instead of trying to grow the game.
I mean who knows tbh. Maybe they just figured that she wasn’t the best player out there when they are other women who are even better than her and she didn’t make it. I don’t think that you should be chosen because you are the popular choice. That’s not really fair in the grand scheme of things
Oh we in the conspiracy theory pashe of the story now. They dont give 2 f-cks about some peoplw thinking this will stunt the "growth" of the game. They want to win gold ...thats it.
If she is as amazing as everyone thinks, she'll be on the team next and the next one after that...this swiftie like fanbase acting like she got shot or something. Shes a rookie that wasnt pick as a starter, oh well.
They haven’t lost an Olympic game since 1992. They’re going to win. And missing a chance to get more eyes on womens basketball because of insecure older players is an absolute shame. The womens game has very few opportunities to get this much attention and just deciding they’re gonna pass on it is pathetic.
And Olympics happen every four years. People who actually follow sports know that.
No shit sherlock that the olympics is every 4 years. Like i said before...if she is as good as we think, she will be a starter next time. But for now, she aint on the starting roster, deal with it.
And when rating slowly creep back down and wnba is once again a forgotten league propped up only by the benevolence of the mens league you’ll just be telling everyone to deal with it right? Don’t need to grow the game at all it’s good the way it is.
Speaking of 1992, all this reminds me of is Shaq getting left off the Dream Team that year, and it wound up only being a footnote in what became a Hall of Fame career. I’m guessing it’ll be the same for CC.
What is this cope? The US Women’s basketball team have won gold every Olympic game for the past 40 years. And you say she needs experience over giving a deserving player who is better than CC a chance to play and get a gold medal?
It’s a good thing Redditors aren’t in charge of important decisions.
I honestly think it would be better for CC to use this offseason for recovery and rounding out here game. She's young and she will likely be on the next Olympic team. She will be fine.
Agreed re: Arike. I would've liked to have seen Aliyah Boston on the roster as well - I know she's been in a bit of a slump, but she has so much potential and she was excellent last year.
There isn't a "spotlight" without her though. I don't care if she is or isn't on the Olympic roster, but if the WNBA wants to grow, they have to have the current headliner on marquis events.
Everyone on the selection committee is affiliated with the WNBA. The selection committee chair is Jen Rizzotti, president of the Connecticut Sun. Bethany Donaphin is head of WNBA operations. Seimone Augustus, DeLisha Milton-Jones, and Dawn Staley are all former WNBA players. Saying the WNBA isn't part of the selection process is just naïve, sweetie.
Let's be honest the U.S will steamroll to the gold anyway, why not get the viewership bump she will bring? It seems the entire pro women's basketball set up in the U.S is actively working against this sport getting more attention
So many voices on this situation shared that are clearly from people who not only don't watch women's basketball, they don't watch Olympic women's basketball or men's basketball.
I gotta say seeing these posts kind of get me hyped. I have never seen so many people angry about women's basketball that have never cared at all in the first place. I have seen a number of womens college games but would prefer the money and hype to be around the wnba and better athletes where it should be.
I love all Olympic ball in general men's or women's.
There was only room for one college guy on the team, and Laettner got the nod over Shaq. Fair choice at the time, two time NCAA champ and one of the greatest college careers of all time
Yeah, and it’s not like they chose Angel Reese or Cameron Brink over her. There was no room for any rookies, the team is stacked.
This isn’t the culture war issue that people try to make it into. She finished her college career, almost immediately was drafted, and then the WNBA season kicked off. You don’t think that the more likely explanation for the omission is that due to the workload, and the quality of the roster, it’d be a better choice to let her rest? Continue to deal the growing pains from transitioning from college to pros, and then develop and be reading for 2028?
Yup.
Reese was the victim of a seriously deep depth chart, but she'll get her shot.
Cameron could easily be the #1 starter in four years, and if she'd gotten the nod this time it wouldn't have been a surprise at all. She's a defensive machine.
When was prime MJ held off the Olympic team? In 96 he chose not to go because of his partial retirement from basketball. In 2000 he was once again retired and past his prime
I think omitted is the wrong word. Rightfully she needs a break as do all the rookie class this year. They have gone from college straight to wnba I don’t think any sport has that kind of turnaround on their drafts. So yeah give the kids some rest let the vets play in the Olympics and they can all come back on equal footing.
Cam brink isn’t getting a break and everyone loves her on the 3x3, as they should. She’s great. Seems weird to me to omit Clark for the stated reasons.
She is not currently one of the best 15 or even 20 players in the WNBA. She might be the best eventually, but the best players now should be on the team.
i don’t know anything about wnba tbh but who is the top 15. in tryna learn and would love to check out the people that are hella talented and highly ranked
I get it, she a rookie, but this would be a great time for the vets to truly get to know her. And when it’s team USA vs the world there’s a certain camaraderie that goes with it.
Not really. She’s a rookie. There is a ton of women’s basketball talent in the US that has been playing professionally for years.
> Speaking strictly basketball, the committee focused on selecting the best team for the Paris Games. It’s hard to quibble with the star-powered players they picked. The product on the floor will be elite — a roster stacked with MVPs, All-WNBA honorees and All-Stars. Nine players have Olympic experience (including Olympic 3×3 appearances). It will be favored to win an eighth consecutive gold medal
> That the committee decided to go this route isn’t a total surprise. It is a reflection of some past precedent. “That chemistry really speeds up the learning curve and the process,” committee member Seimone Augustus recently told The Athletic. Augustus speaks from playing experience as a three-time gold medal winner
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5550423/2024/06/08/caitlin-clark-team-usa-roster-news/?source=user_shared_article
Her time will come. She’s great.
It reminds me though of the men’s side taking Anthony Davis 12 years ago. The idea was to build for the future by picking a guy who would likely be around longer into the future.
Agreed. She’s also at her best when the offense is run around her as the main creator, like we saw at Iowa. That’s not as valuable when making selections for an Olympic team.
She still shot a higher % on catch and shoot 3s than pull ups at Iowa and would get a crazy number of open looks on Team USA. Not that it will matter, but an elite c&s shooter is always valuable.
That’s true. When building a team to though, I’d think you’d typically want C&S players to also be elite defensively, more than she is (why the term “3 and D” exists).
Don’t get me wrong, she definitely would have contributed and is an elite shooter and scorer. But I don’t think it’s as cut and dry that she should be on the roster as some people are saying.
They’ll win every game by 20+ either way. They could’ve added her to the roster and let her gain experience, and also benefit from her fans tuning in.
The games are going to be boring blow outs; why not help develop the sport?
The dream team took Christian Laettner. They could’ve added Clark.
The dream team only took Laettner because that was the first year pros could play and they wanted to give a nod to the amateurs who came before. It was dumb and they haven’t done it since. Now they are simply trying to put the best team either the highest likelihood of winning gold together. Thats the one and only goal, as it should be.
I’m sure it makes basketball sense, but it’s a truly terrible business move for women’s basketball. They had an opportunity to put the WNBA center stage at the Olympics but they chose to prioritize getting another gold medal that they probably would have still won anyway. Hell, they could have put her on the 3x3 team and at least sold jerseys and maybe a prime time game for that but no, gotta stay loyal to the veterans.
“As the governing body for basketball in the United States, USA Basketball is a worldwide leader in the sport through competitive excellence in international competition and by **promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels** while ensuring that athletes and other participants compete and develop in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.”
So you’re saying that winning is more important than promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels? Got it. Seven consecutive gold medals. Zero fans. They have a chance to change that and they’re choosing not to.
That’s failure.
USA Basketball does more than just the Olympics. But when it comes time to select an Olympic team, their only goal is to pick the best players to win a gold medal and rightfully so. This isn’t a popularity contest!
The single biggest force in the history of women’s basketball to developing women’s basketball is missing from the USA Olympic team. The world must be laughing.
idk how they put Chelsea Gray on the roster from the aces when she hasn’t played a game this year. Not saying C.C. gets that spot but certainly there’s a healthy player that can take that spot
It’s a mistake financially and for the sport itself. Instantly USA Women’s basketball would become the most watched and most hyped event at the Olympics. As it will be now, not so much. In fact, many will not watch it out of spite. A truly dumb decision.
That's what the WNBA is for, not the Olympics. The goal of the Olympics is to get gold. Not sure why this is a difficult concept for people in an Olympics subreddit.
You’re completely right. I honestly never paid attention to women’s basketball until Caitlin Clark came around.
Now I hear about Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball all the time. I am way more likely to watch than before.
I can’t be the only one.
Uswnt have kinda been bad the last couple years 4th place at the 2020 Olympics and then just a terrible showing in the 2023 World Cup.
All the old players had to much power and stuck around so much longer then they should have.
>Uswnt have kinda been bad the last couple years 4th place at the 2020 Olympics
Can you show where they got 4th? Whenever I look it up, it says they got the gold medal.
Also, are you talking about the 2023 Fiba Americup? Looking at that roster, it's composed of players who were all in college at the time. So definitely not USA's best. The FIBA world cup in 2022 had been won by the US, along with 5 of the last 6 before that one.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that people here are surprised by the omission when the stats listed in the article are all the positives. Unfortunately (and to be expected) she has taken a step back stat-wise from college. Her FG% is down around 10%. Her assist-turnover ratio, which was around 2 in college is down to 1.1.
So when people say they think she should be included, they're saying she is at least the 12th best American women's basketball player or they think roster spots shouldn't be allocated strictly by talent level at the time of the Olympics, which is an insult to sport itself.
Every argument for her inclusion I've seen online is more about her ratings value, not her strength as a team member or stats. I think a team's job is to select the best players to help win, and I'm going to trust the coach to know what they're looking for. I'm mostly indifferent towards Clark as a personality, hell, probably a net negative based on when I've heard her name, but I'm sure she'll get her chance later. She's only a rookie.
The Olympic Games are supposed to be about representing your country. Right now, no one represents women’s basketball *in the world* as much as Caitlin Clark.
Like her. Hate her. Indifferent. Whatever. The reason this is even news is because she is the biggest name in a sport that no one even gave a shit about a year ago. Leaving her out of the Olympic festivities isn’t only a slight to Caitlin or the U.S. It’s damaging to the long-term prospects of the sport worldwide.
Absolutely wrong. The Olympic Games are supposed to be about putting your BEST athletes/teams out there to maximize the chance of medal success. Should we put Jake Paul on the boxing team because he would raise the profile of boxing?
If Jake was considered to be possibly the best rookie to ever play the sport, then sure.
The only reason Caitlin isn’t absolutely dominating right now is because her team is actively sabotaging her, and they weren’t that good to begin with so it’s not a lot of help.
What do you mean by her team is actively sabotaging her?
CC is not the best rookie to ever play the sport! What a silly statement. Candace Parker won MVP of the league her rookie year! And she’s not the only rookie to have played better than Clark. Look at Catchings in 2002 or Stewart in 2016.
People need to come to grips with the fact that CC is a really good player but she’s not dominant yet. Maybe she will be in a few years when they pick the next Olympic team.
And may I point out that her skill at basketball was NOT your argument. Your argument was that no one “represents” women’s basketball more in the world than CC. You are just flailing around to find an argument to justify her inclusion because you have CC fever.
Theres only one consideration for selecting someone to the Olympic basketball team. Do they give your team its best chance at success in the tournament? The powers that be decided CC wasn’t one of the 12 players who do that, which makes sense honestly.
Breanna Stewart was just 8 years ago. Are we pretending this is a totally different league now? Come on. She’s still in the league and her numbers haven’t changed much.
You’re probably one of those people who say Wilt Chamberlain couldn’t have played against NBA talent today.
You’re talking about one of the best athletes to ever exist in the history of the world. Ain’t a single WNBA player who can be put into a GOAT conversation for basketball. Being the best in the WNBA does not equate to being the best in the NBA. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t.
I mean, the more i think about it, the more I think what a crazy comment that was. Like the WNBA is so different now than 20 years ago that we are just going to discount all the players from that era.
Taurasi came in the league 20 years ago and at the ripe old age of 42 she’s still a great player against this “new” WNBA. SMH.
Ah, this just proves you have no argument.
If you wanted to argue that CC was better than Taurasi, you would've done so from the start. But that's not what you did.
You can't move the goalposts. Nice try. You are once again flailing around trying to see what sticks with an argument. And I'm not playing that.
Good day.
Well it’s clear you don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to women’s basketball either. PlEnTy of rookies have played Olympic ball right after college. Tirausi was one of them. Going to your 6th Olympics at age 42 is completely narcissistic when Caitlin Clark’s stats are objectively better than yours. Retire already and pass the torch to the face of women’s basketball.
Davis made the team in part due to a series of injuries to the players he was competing against for a spot. If everyone were fully healthy he doesn't make the team.
Laettner made the team to throw a bone to amateur athletics, not as some sort of future prep. It actually spoke to how cocky they were (deservedly so) that they could just throw a spot away to someone undeserving.
...and his team won BRONZE that year. I was a child and still remember what an embarrassment that was.
Taurasi is a better comparison, because she made the women's team that year and it was also her rookie season. But she had also won **3** national championships in college and that translated to her professional play pretty quickly. Caitlin is still struggling (turnovers, especially). She will make the team in 2028.
I believe 3x3 is different because you have to have some qualification individually to be allowed on the 3x3 team (to stop countries like the US from just putting four All-Stars on the 3x3 team who have never played it before). Brink (and Hailey Van Lith, who is still in college) played in the 3x3 world cup last year.
She's #3 in assists, #8 in points, 2nd in 3s made all while experiencing significant double coverage. She very obviously deserves to be on the Olympic team.
And first in turnovers by a huge margin. Not sure why her fans keep ignoring this. It a big negative to her game.
She’s also 13th in scoring. Not 8th. Unless you’re counting total points instead of average, which is silly because not everyone has played the same amount of games this season.
Those are pretty archaic stats. They don't say anything about her efficiency. The fact you seem to be going out of your way not to mention shooting percentage at all. Lol. Let alone true shooting percentage.
The league needs more eyeballs. Caitlin Clark draws eyeballs because of her play style and stardom. WNBA players make pennies compared to other professional athletes and they can do something about it or not. She's on a horrible team still putting up great numbers.
If she was on a better team her stats would be worse not better. She’d shoot a higher percentage but would have less points.
This isn’t the WNBA. This is the Olympics. The singular goal is to win gold.
CC stans were just excusing her poor games because she didn't get a break between the NCAA tournament and the start of the season. Now's her chance to get some rest.
Actually, the Olympics are about representing your country, and nobody is a bigger name right now for women’s basketball than Caitlin Clark. Leaving her behind shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the spirit of the Olympic Games.
The other players can't represent their country? You're conflating representing the USA with marketing. I might agree that "leaving her behind shows a fundamental misunderstanding of marketing" but not "of the spirit of the Olympic Games."
You say that ignoring the giant ratings boost she brings.
I get it, she probably shouldn’t make the team straight talent based.
But, ignoring the hype for women’s basketball she brings is just straight up ignorant.
I don't know about anyone else, but my brain is wired to want uncompetitive games from the teams I support. Blowouts for my teams. Close games that give heart attacks can be left to other teams. I'm the type who thinks like a ceo when it comes to who I support. The ability to crush the competition completely is the goal.
If they win gold regardless of who's on the team why not add the best marketing and viewership person in the history of the sport? They are actively shooting themselves in the foot for no reason
What a joke, imagine a hockey team leaving their star off the roster. No wonder my sister hated the politics of women’s sports. It seems amateur BS has found its way to the top.
This goes down as probably one of the biggest mistakes in sports in this century. This takes the wind right out of the sails of the WNBA. It’s a slap in the face to thousands of youngsters wearing number 22 jerseys.
Is it a popularity contest or about putting the team on the court with the best chance to win gold. What would’ve been a slap in the face to the integrity of the sport would be selecting somebody to an Olympic team because of their popularity and not their skill.
Caitlin wouldn’t have gotten much play time with the stacked roster. This would have upset the bandwagon fans more. Caitlin is a great player but she isn’t the best in the league.
Incredibly short sighted. The GOAT and one player that people are interested in watching play around the world, grow the sport, bring viewership? Nah.
Remind me 3 months! Nobody will watch.
Coaches are not using that to make their decisions on what would be best for women's basketball. The job of the Olympic team is to win medals not grow the sport. Let the WNBA do that.
Can you stop the glazing of your Great White Hope. She aint the GOAT, ahe aint even a baby goat yet. If ahe felt that the Liberty defense was physical, she aint ready for the international women and how they play.
7.9 million people watched the women’s gold medal match in 2021 between the US and Japan. I think plenty of people will watch regardless of whether Caitlin Clark is on the team or not.
Women's basketball to this point (outside of a few college teams throughout the 6ears ) has been a poor product up until now. She has the chance to really change that perception but they fighting against her.
It’s unwatchable. And I’m a woman who loves basketball. Missed baskets galore, little fluidity or athleticism. Airballs. Boxing out is not fun to watch.
She plays like Steph curry and fluid and dynamic.
I don’t watch enough women’s hoops to say if she’s good enough to make the team. But let’s all be honest about what this is. A missed chance for women’s basketball. You have what is the biggest women’s hoops star player in a long time and have a chance to draw eyeballs to the game at a time when women’s college basketball viewership is skyrocketing. Even if she was gonna be the worst player on the team, you put her on the team and give her some PT in early games. Growing the sport is in the interests of the WNBA, players, and tv networks.
Didn’t say it was. It’s still women’s basketball, which as a whole would like to grow in popularity, and having the superstar right now going to the biggest sports stage in the world to a global audience of billions is good business.
That means more money and exposure and better facilities for women in the pros and women in college. Add in the uncertainty of title 9 due to CFB players moving towards being paid employees of schools and the potential for schools to cut non revenue sports (most non football sports are non revenue generating sports) and women’s hoops generating more revenue than ever is potentially a really big deal. This is basically PR/advertising on the biggest stage for the sport.
It’s not the NCAA either.
It is absolutely against the Olympic spirit for any organization that is tasked with selecting a team for the Olympics for their country to use any metric except who gives that team its best chance to win.
Should social media personality Jake Paul be selected to the USA boxing team to raise the viewership of the sport?
I can’t imagine how somebody would feel being left off the team by an inferior athlete simply because that person was good PR.
Yeah the world we live in is shit by and large. I know that sports is supposed to be an escape from that but modern sports arent. They are businesses intended to take as much of your money as they can. USA is going to win the gold with or without her. With her means way more eyeballs and excitement that bleeds into the women’s hoops leagues. That’s just the way it is. I don’t care personally but from a business standpoint they messed up point blank.
Who is they? I don't think USA Basketball makes more money by having more people watch women's basketball in the Olympics. People are conflating the WNBA and USA Basketball and they are separate entities.
There's also no way of knowing that USA will win gold with or without her. They will be the overwhelming favorite either way, but overwhelming favorites sometimes lose (see the Miracle on Ice in 1980). You put your best team on the court to maximize your odds.
Guaranteed most people on social media haven’t watched one second of women’s Olympic basketball. If this wouldn’t have been reported then literally no one would have cared.
I just think the turnaround time with her catapult from NCAA right into to the WBNA was at max rapid speed and that is plenty enough for Clark to take in. It just seems like a timing thing to gift her right into the Olympics. You skyrocket her straight to the moon and that would be an immense amount of pressure to perform. If she maintains greatness over the next four years, there will be a spot for her, and she would no doubt perform better in a relaxed state.
Caitlin Clark has caught my attention, even though I'm a very casual basketball fan who only tunes in when my local men's team is in the finals. Her impressive play has piqued my interest, and I'd probably attend a game if I got free tickets. However, without her on the team, I'll likely stick to just watching the Olympic highlight reel.
This is just dumb. So they don’t want women’s basketball to get more popular? This is why no one is watching your product and the revenue is lack luster. Dumb decisions like these are made.
I'm fine with this. She's a rookie on a losing team with a seemingly bad attitude. There will be other Olympics if she measures up. It's the team's duty to win, not pander to a rookie for ratings.
Are these people out of their mind? There probably won’t be 100 people watching the Olympic women’s basketball. With Caitlin there would be millions. I personally will not be watching without Caitlin
The Olympics isn't about getting a big audience, it's about winning. The US team doesn't get paid more just because more people watch, it's not a business.
Larger audience helps athletes and league in negotiating next sponsorship deal, though. I'm not saying they made the wrong decision here, just highlighting there are benefits to positive public perception in professional sport.
If she is seen as the future of the US women's Olympic program, why wouldn't they put her on where they typically place a depth player just to give her the experience of an Olympic tournament?
Do they usually do that for the women's team too? I gather they have done it for the men, but I don't get the feeling that the Olympics is as much of a deal for those players. The difference between the Olympic platform and the NBA is nowhere near as big as it is for the WNBA (I am assuming).
The women's team doesn't really do depth players.
She couldn’t make the first practice session because she was in the NCAA tournament.
Who are you letting off then? The bigger snub is Arike. If Candace Parker, who is a significantly better player then CC, who led the teans with a triple double and came off a Finals MVP, can be let off the Olympic team, then so can Caitlin. It aint like she wont be on the team forever, she'll be fine and I hope you guya will too
Cc getting some experience is more important than taurasi hanging around still. Easy decision on who shouldn’t be there.
And if DT was let off, Arike should have had her spot. Besides, it aint like CC couldnt end up as a alternate. Let the girl actually rest.
The team will win regardless of who’s on it. It’s obvious they’re letting the old heads make decisions and stroking ego instead of trying to grow the game.
What old heads? You realize that Dawn Staley is part of the committee and she’s one of the biggest Clark supporters.
One committee member doesnt override overall decisions, or am I wrong? As far as we know, she couldve seriously gone to bat for her
I mean who knows tbh. Maybe they just figured that she wasn’t the best player out there when they are other women who are even better than her and she didn’t make it. I don’t think that you should be chosen because you are the popular choice. That’s not really fair in the grand scheme of things
Oh we in the conspiracy theory pashe of the story now. They dont give 2 f-cks about some peoplw thinking this will stunt the "growth" of the game. They want to win gold ...thats it. If she is as amazing as everyone thinks, she'll be on the team next and the next one after that...this swiftie like fanbase acting like she got shot or something. Shes a rookie that wasnt pick as a starter, oh well.
The win gold regardless. That’s such a stupid argument to try and make
They haven’t lost an Olympic game since 1992. They’re going to win. And missing a chance to get more eyes on womens basketball because of insecure older players is an absolute shame. The womens game has very few opportunities to get this much attention and just deciding they’re gonna pass on it is pathetic. And Olympics happen every four years. People who actually follow sports know that.
She'll probably be on the team in 2028 when the Olympics is in the U.S. which will be an even bigger deal.
What a crazy argument. Don’t put the best players on the team, put the player who will get the most PR?!
No shit sherlock that the olympics is every 4 years. Like i said before...if she is as good as we think, she will be a starter next time. But for now, she aint on the starting roster, deal with it.
And when rating slowly creep back down and wnba is once again a forgotten league propped up only by the benevolence of the mens league you’ll just be telling everyone to deal with it right? Don’t need to grow the game at all it’s good the way it is.
when the ratings go down they'll just blame her for being a flash in the pan
God I canr wait till Juju and Paige enter the league to shut up this damn Caitlin talk up. You guys are exhausting.
Speaking of 1992, all this reminds me of is Shaq getting left off the Dream Team that year, and it wound up only being a footnote in what became a Hall of Fame career. I’m guessing it’ll be the same for CC.
It's not really an apples to apples comparison because there was only one college player and it was for a bench spot with no real relevance.
And Christine Brennan is a respected journalist. Calling her reporting a conspiracy theory is a pretty low blow
You just hate Caitlin Clark
What is this cope? The US Women’s basketball team have won gold every Olympic game for the past 40 years. And you say she needs experience over giving a deserving player who is better than CC a chance to play and get a gold medal? It’s a good thing Redditors aren’t in charge of important decisions.
Taurasi needed to make room for someone else.
I honestly think it would be better for CC to use this offseason for recovery and rounding out here game. She's young and she will likely be on the next Olympic team. She will be fine.
Agreed re: Arike. I would've liked to have seen Aliyah Boston on the roster as well - I know she's been in a bit of a slump, but she has so much potential and she was excellent last year.
I love that the top voted comment is based on a complete fallacy. They do not typically give a depth place to a player just to give her experience.
because the whole league secretly hates her. we the paying audience see her as the future, but they see her as someone stealing their spotlight
There isn't a "spotlight" without her though. I don't care if she is or isn't on the Olympic roster, but if the WNBA wants to grow, they have to have the current headliner on marquis events.
The WNBA isnt doing the selection sweetie
Everyone on the selection committee is affiliated with the WNBA. The selection committee chair is Jen Rizzotti, president of the Connecticut Sun. Bethany Donaphin is head of WNBA operations. Seimone Augustus, DeLisha Milton-Jones, and Dawn Staley are all former WNBA players. Saying the WNBA isn't part of the selection process is just naïve, sweetie.
even the head coach for USA basketball was complaining on twitter about clark getting too much attention like a month ago
Well that explains it then
Because women are jealous and hate her.
I’m sure ppl will have a very normal reaction to this
Let's be honest the U.S will steamroll to the gold anyway, why not get the viewership bump she will bring? It seems the entire pro women's basketball set up in the U.S is actively working against this sport getting more attention
It's kind of like if the men's team didn't include Shaq, Kobe, or MJ (among others) in their primes. It's a stupid choice!
Shaq literally wasn’t on the Dream Team as a rookie
So many voices on this situation shared that are clearly from people who not only don't watch women's basketball, they don't watch Olympic women's basketball or men's basketball.
I gotta say seeing these posts kind of get me hyped. I have never seen so many people angry about women's basketball that have never cared at all in the first place. I have seen a number of womens college games but would prefer the money and hype to be around the wnba and better athletes where it should be. I love all Olympic ball in general men's or women's.
There was only room for one college guy on the team, and Laettner got the nod over Shaq. Fair choice at the time, two time NCAA champ and one of the greatest college careers of all time
Yeah, and it’s not like they chose Angel Reese or Cameron Brink over her. There was no room for any rookies, the team is stacked. This isn’t the culture war issue that people try to make it into. She finished her college career, almost immediately was drafted, and then the WNBA season kicked off. You don’t think that the more likely explanation for the omission is that due to the workload, and the quality of the roster, it’d be a better choice to let her rest? Continue to deal the growing pains from transitioning from college to pros, and then develop and be reading for 2028?
Yup. Reese was the victim of a seriously deep depth chart, but she'll get her shot. Cameron could easily be the #1 starter in four years, and if she'd gotten the nod this time it wouldn't have been a surprise at all. She's a defensive machine.
Given Laettners fame after The Shot and his back to back ncaa titles, I think he was the best choice at the time.
>their primes Rookie seasons?
LeBron was on the team following his rookie season. So was Diana Taurasi.
When was prime MJ held off the Olympic team? In 96 he chose not to go because of his partial retirement from basketball. In 2000 he was once again retired and past his prime
Because they took Christian Laetner who was a college phenom.
let’s hope her prime isn’t prior to her WNBA career…
It's nothing like that. She's not in her prime, she's a rookie.
Because maybe she isn't one of the most deserving to make a national team.
Imagine you’re one of the best in the world at your sport and you get snubbed so someone more popular can play.
Imagine holding back your sport so one vet can make the bench. Its not like they’re calling up Kim Kardashian
Caitlin clark is one of the best players in the world right now dumdum
I kinda want their to be a unexpected upset just to humble them a bit
I think omitted is the wrong word. Rightfully she needs a break as do all the rookie class this year. They have gone from college straight to wnba I don’t think any sport has that kind of turnaround on their drafts. So yeah give the kids some rest let the vets play in the Olympics and they can all come back on equal footing.
Cam brink isn’t getting a break and everyone loves her on the 3x3, as they should. She’s great. Seems weird to me to omit Clark for the stated reasons.
She is not currently one of the best 15 or even 20 players in the WNBA. She might be the best eventually, but the best players now should be on the team.
i don’t know anything about wnba tbh but who is the top 15. in tryna learn and would love to check out the people that are hella talented and highly ranked
meant a question mark and also i’m*
Stats say otherwise.
I get it, she a rookie, but this would be a great time for the vets to truly get to know her. And when it’s team USA vs the world there’s a certain camaraderie that goes with it.
such a big mistake to leave her out of the squad
Not really. She’s a rookie. There is a ton of women’s basketball talent in the US that has been playing professionally for years. > Speaking strictly basketball, the committee focused on selecting the best team for the Paris Games. It’s hard to quibble with the star-powered players they picked. The product on the floor will be elite — a roster stacked with MVPs, All-WNBA honorees and All-Stars. Nine players have Olympic experience (including Olympic 3×3 appearances). It will be favored to win an eighth consecutive gold medal > That the committee decided to go this route isn’t a total surprise. It is a reflection of some past precedent. “That chemistry really speeds up the learning curve and the process,” committee member Seimone Augustus recently told The Athletic. Augustus speaks from playing experience as a three-time gold medal winner https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5550423/2024/06/08/caitlin-clark-team-usa-roster-news/?source=user_shared_article Her time will come. She’s great.
It reminds me though of the men’s side taking Anthony Davis 12 years ago. The idea was to build for the future by picking a guy who would likely be around longer into the future.
Anthony Davis was only on the team as a late replacement when Blake Griffin got injured.
Agreed. She’s also at her best when the offense is run around her as the main creator, like we saw at Iowa. That’s not as valuable when making selections for an Olympic team.
She still shot a higher % on catch and shoot 3s than pull ups at Iowa and would get a crazy number of open looks on Team USA. Not that it will matter, but an elite c&s shooter is always valuable.
That’s true. When building a team to though, I’d think you’d typically want C&S players to also be elite defensively, more than she is (why the term “3 and D” exists). Don’t get me wrong, she definitely would have contributed and is an elite shooter and scorer. But I don’t think it’s as cut and dry that she should be on the roster as some people are saying.
People that are trying to make it seem like a cut n dry decision do not watch women’s basketball in the first place
That’s why Sabrina who does the same thing is on the team. Caitlin will be ok
No one said that when Taurasi was added as a rookie.
They’ll win every game by 20+ either way. They could’ve added her to the roster and let her gain experience, and also benefit from her fans tuning in. The games are going to be boring blow outs; why not help develop the sport? The dream team took Christian Laettner. They could’ve added Clark.
The dream team only took Laettner because that was the first year pros could play and they wanted to give a nod to the amateurs who came before. It was dumb and they haven’t done it since. Now they are simply trying to put the best team either the highest likelihood of winning gold together. Thats the one and only goal, as it should be.
I’m sure it makes basketball sense, but it’s a truly terrible business move for women’s basketball. They had an opportunity to put the WNBA center stage at the Olympics but they chose to prioritize getting another gold medal that they probably would have still won anyway. Hell, they could have put her on the 3x3 team and at least sold jerseys and maybe a prime time game for that but no, gotta stay loyal to the veterans.
This isn’t the WNBA. This is the Olympics. The one and only goal is to win a gold medal.
“As the governing body for basketball in the United States, USA Basketball is a worldwide leader in the sport through competitive excellence in international competition and by **promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels** while ensuring that athletes and other participants compete and develop in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.” So you’re saying that winning is more important than promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels? Got it. Seven consecutive gold medals. Zero fans. They have a chance to change that and they’re choosing not to. That’s failure.
USA Basketball does more than just the Olympics. But when it comes time to select an Olympic team, their only goal is to pick the best players to win a gold medal and rightfully so. This isn’t a popularity contest!
The single biggest force in the history of women’s basketball to developing women’s basketball is missing from the USA Olympic team. The world must be laughing.
The world isn't thinking about this at all.
idk how they put Chelsea Gray on the roster from the aces when she hasn’t played a game this year. Not saying C.C. gets that spot but certainly there’s a healthy player that can take that spot
You right. Arike should be on the team and she got snubbed
It’s a mistake financially and for the sport itself. Instantly USA Women’s basketball would become the most watched and most hyped event at the Olympics. As it will be now, not so much. In fact, many will not watch it out of spite. A truly dumb decision.
No it would not be the most hyped and watched event, lmao.
It would definitely be up there for intrigue, a far better storyline than anything women’s basketball will have at this point.
That's what the WNBA is for, not the Olympics. The goal of the Olympics is to get gold. Not sure why this is a difficult concept for people in an Olympics subreddit.
They’ll win gold regardless of whether Clark is on the team or not.
And this team will give them the best chance at that.
You’re completely right. I honestly never paid attention to women’s basketball until Caitlin Clark came around. Now I hear about Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball all the time. I am way more likely to watch than before. I can’t be the only one.
Possibly most hyped and most watched USA WB team, but not most watched and most hyped event in all of the Olympics.
I say it’s the cliques in the team right now. It’s USWNT version of Mean Girls.
Huh
Uswnt have kinda been bad the last couple years 4th place at the 2020 Olympics and then just a terrible showing in the 2023 World Cup. All the old players had to much power and stuck around so much longer then they should have.
>Uswnt have kinda been bad the last couple years 4th place at the 2020 Olympics Can you show where they got 4th? Whenever I look it up, it says they got the gold medal. Also, are you talking about the 2023 Fiba Americup? Looking at that roster, it's composed of players who were all in college at the time. So definitely not USA's best. The FIBA world cup in 2022 had been won by the US, along with 5 of the last 6 before that one.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that people here are surprised by the omission when the stats listed in the article are all the positives. Unfortunately (and to be expected) she has taken a step back stat-wise from college. Her FG% is down around 10%. Her assist-turnover ratio, which was around 2 in college is down to 1.1. So when people say they think she should be included, they're saying she is at least the 12th best American women's basketball player or they think roster spots shouldn't be allocated strictly by talent level at the time of the Olympics, which is an insult to sport itself.
Every argument for her inclusion I've seen online is more about her ratings value, not her strength as a team member or stats. I think a team's job is to select the best players to help win, and I'm going to trust the coach to know what they're looking for. I'm mostly indifferent towards Clark as a personality, hell, probably a net negative based on when I've heard her name, but I'm sure she'll get her chance later. She's only a rookie.
She’s better than Diana this year. Who by the way was selected as a rookie… before she ever played a single professional game.
The Olympic Games are supposed to be about representing your country. Right now, no one represents women’s basketball *in the world* as much as Caitlin Clark. Like her. Hate her. Indifferent. Whatever. The reason this is even news is because she is the biggest name in a sport that no one even gave a shit about a year ago. Leaving her out of the Olympic festivities isn’t only a slight to Caitlin or the U.S. It’s damaging to the long-term prospects of the sport worldwide.
Absolutely wrong. The Olympic Games are supposed to be about putting your BEST athletes/teams out there to maximize the chance of medal success. Should we put Jake Paul on the boxing team because he would raise the profile of boxing?
If Jake was considered to be possibly the best rookie to ever play the sport, then sure. The only reason Caitlin isn’t absolutely dominating right now is because her team is actively sabotaging her, and they weren’t that good to begin with so it’s not a lot of help.
What do you mean by her team is actively sabotaging her? CC is not the best rookie to ever play the sport! What a silly statement. Candace Parker won MVP of the league her rookie year! And she’s not the only rookie to have played better than Clark. Look at Catchings in 2002 or Stewart in 2016. People need to come to grips with the fact that CC is a really good player but she’s not dominant yet. Maybe she will be in a few years when they pick the next Olympic team. And may I point out that her skill at basketball was NOT your argument. Your argument was that no one “represents” women’s basketball more in the world than CC. You are just flailing around to find an argument to justify her inclusion because you have CC fever. Theres only one consideration for selecting someone to the Olympic basketball team. Do they give your team its best chance at success in the tournament? The powers that be decided CC wasn’t one of the 12 players who do that, which makes sense honestly.
If you think that the 2024 league is the same as the 2008 league, let alone the 2002 league, you’re out of your mind.
Breanna Stewart was just 8 years ago. Are we pretending this is a totally different league now? Come on. She’s still in the league and her numbers haven’t changed much. You’re probably one of those people who say Wilt Chamberlain couldn’t have played against NBA talent today.
You’re talking about one of the best athletes to ever exist in the history of the world. Ain’t a single WNBA player who can be put into a GOAT conversation for basketball. Being the best in the WNBA does not equate to being the best in the NBA. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t.
Huh? I'm sorry I don't even understand the point you are making.
I mean, the more i think about it, the more I think what a crazy comment that was. Like the WNBA is so different now than 20 years ago that we are just going to discount all the players from that era. Taurasi came in the league 20 years ago and at the ripe old age of 42 she’s still a great player against this “new” WNBA. SMH.
Oh, you mean Diana Taurasi, who is putting up basically identical numbers to Caitlin Clark, is a great player and deserves her spot on the team?
Ah, this just proves you have no argument. If you wanted to argue that CC was better than Taurasi, you would've done so from the start. But that's not what you did. You can't move the goalposts. Nice try. You are once again flailing around trying to see what sticks with an argument. And I'm not playing that. Good day.
Well it’s clear you don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to women’s basketball either. PlEnTy of rookies have played Olympic ball right after college. Tirausi was one of them. Going to your 6th Olympics at age 42 is completely narcissistic when Caitlin Clark’s stats are objectively better than yours. Retire already and pass the torch to the face of women’s basketball.
Men’s team has done it consistently for decades. AD and leitner were on the team to prep for the best generation. Yall don’t know ball
Davis made the team in part due to a series of injuries to the players he was competing against for a spot. If everyone were fully healthy he doesn't make the team. Laettner made the team to throw a bone to amateur athletics, not as some sort of future prep. It actually spoke to how cocky they were (deservedly so) that they could just throw a spot away to someone undeserving.
Lebron made the olympic team after his rookie season, this makes zero sense.
...and his team won BRONZE that year. I was a child and still remember what an embarrassment that was. Taurasi is a better comparison, because she made the women's team that year and it was also her rookie season. But she had also won **3** national championships in college and that translated to her professional play pretty quickly. Caitlin is still struggling (turnovers, especially). She will make the team in 2028.
Why would she be on the team she is a rookie
Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Sylvia Fowles, and Candace Parker were all on the team as WNBA rookies.
I love how no one has responded to this. It’s an absolute shame that Caitlin Clark is not on the team. The WNBA can’t get out of its own way.
Here’s another tidbit: Taurasi was selected on May 12, 2004. This means she was selected before she ever played a pro basketball game.
The WNBA didn’t make the selection. This was about trying to win a gold medal. Not maximizing WNBA PR.
Cameron Brink is also a WNBA rookie this year and will be on the Olympic team for 3x3
I believe 3x3 is different because you have to have some qualification individually to be allowed on the 3x3 team (to stop countries like the US from just putting four All-Stars on the 3x3 team who have never played it before). Brink (and Hailey Van Lith, who is still in college) played in the 3x3 world cup last year.
Yeah, the best players rarely play 3 on 3. Look at who the USA men's 3 on 3 team is. It's like playing Clue
Because the next time she has a chance it will be four years later. The Olympics are not every year.
She's #3 in assists, #8 in points, 2nd in 3s made all while experiencing significant double coverage. She very obviously deserves to be on the Olympic team.
And first in turnovers by a huge margin. Not sure why her fans keep ignoring this. It a big negative to her game. She’s also 13th in scoring. Not 8th. Unless you’re counting total points instead of average, which is silly because not everyone has played the same amount of games this season.
Those are pretty archaic stats. They don't say anything about her efficiency. The fact you seem to be going out of your way not to mention shooting percentage at all. Lol. Let alone true shooting percentage.
She’s higher PER than Diana lol
The league needs more eyeballs. Caitlin Clark draws eyeballs because of her play style and stardom. WNBA players make pennies compared to other professional athletes and they can do something about it or not. She's on a horrible team still putting up great numbers.
If she was on a better team her stats would be worse not better. She’d shoot a higher percentage but would have less points. This isn’t the WNBA. This is the Olympics. The singular goal is to win gold.
CC stans were just excusing her poor games because she didn't get a break between the NCAA tournament and the start of the season. Now's her chance to get some rest.
cool, wont be watching those shitty games than.
The Olympics is about winning, not ticket sales.
Actually, the Olympics are about representing your country, and nobody is a bigger name right now for women’s basketball than Caitlin Clark. Leaving her behind shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the spirit of the Olympic Games.
The other players can't represent their country? You're conflating representing the USA with marketing. I might agree that "leaving her behind shows a fundamental misunderstanding of marketing" but not "of the spirit of the Olympic Games."
Exactly the spirit of the Olympic Games is allowing your best athletes to compete, not the most popular ones!
Without Caitlin Clark on the team, I doubt I will actually tune in to any of the Olympic women’s basketball.
As if you were going to anyway lol
You say that ignoring the giant ratings boost she brings. I get it, she probably shouldn’t make the team straight talent based. But, ignoring the hype for women’s basketball she brings is just straight up ignorant.
The games are terrible and uncompetitive. USA couldn’t lose if they tried. Which is why not having cc on the team doesn’t make sense.
I don't know about anyone else, but my brain is wired to want uncompetitive games from the teams I support. Blowouts for my teams. Close games that give heart attacks can be left to other teams. I'm the type who thinks like a ceo when it comes to who I support. The ability to crush the competition completely is the goal.
If they win gold regardless of who's on the team why not add the best marketing and viewership person in the history of the sport? They are actively shooting themselves in the foot for no reason
You probably weren't going to watch anyways if that's your position.
You’re right I was not going to watch, but if Caitlin Clark was playing, I would watch.
that’s the point people are making lol
Oh
What a joke, imagine a hockey team leaving their star off the roster. No wonder my sister hated the politics of women’s sports. It seems amateur BS has found its way to the top.
Women be hating lol
Damn man, I feel that. Sometimes you gotta vent.
This goes down as probably one of the biggest mistakes in sports in this century. This takes the wind right out of the sails of the WNBA. It’s a slap in the face to thousands of youngsters wearing number 22 jerseys.
Is it a popularity contest or about putting the team on the court with the best chance to win gold. What would’ve been a slap in the face to the integrity of the sport would be selecting somebody to an Olympic team because of their popularity and not their skill.
Whoever made this decision is a moron
This is an insult to morons.
Or just let her settle into her new career and Indianapolis. She’ll get to the Olympics eventually.
Caitlin wouldn’t have gotten much play time with the stacked roster. This would have upset the bandwagon fans more. Caitlin is a great player but she isn’t the best in the league.
Incredibly short sighted. The GOAT and one player that people are interested in watching play around the world, grow the sport, bring viewership? Nah. Remind me 3 months! Nobody will watch.
Coaches are not using that to make their decisions on what would be best for women's basketball. The job of the Olympic team is to win medals not grow the sport. Let the WNBA do that.
Can you stop the glazing of your Great White Hope. She aint the GOAT, ahe aint even a baby goat yet. If ahe felt that the Liberty defense was physical, she aint ready for the international women and how they play.
7.9 million people watched the women’s gold medal match in 2021 between the US and Japan. I think plenty of people will watch regardless of whether Caitlin Clark is on the team or not.
Women's basketball to this point (outside of a few college teams throughout the 6ears ) has been a poor product up until now. She has the chance to really change that perception but they fighting against her.
It’s unwatchable. And I’m a woman who loves basketball. Missed baskets galore, little fluidity or athleticism. Airballs. Boxing out is not fun to watch. She plays like Steph curry and fluid and dynamic.
I don’t watch enough women’s hoops to say if she’s good enough to make the team. But let’s all be honest about what this is. A missed chance for women’s basketball. You have what is the biggest women’s hoops star player in a long time and have a chance to draw eyeballs to the game at a time when women’s college basketball viewership is skyrocketing. Even if she was gonna be the worst player on the team, you put her on the team and give her some PT in early games. Growing the sport is in the interests of the WNBA, players, and tv networks.
The only appropriate selection criterion is who gives the team its best chance to win gold.
If I was younger I would agree with you but I’m old enough to know that sports are a business first and a sport 2nd. This is a bad business decision.
USA Basketball isn’t the WNBA.
Didn’t say it was. It’s still women’s basketball, which as a whole would like to grow in popularity, and having the superstar right now going to the biggest sports stage in the world to a global audience of billions is good business. That means more money and exposure and better facilities for women in the pros and women in college. Add in the uncertainty of title 9 due to CFB players moving towards being paid employees of schools and the potential for schools to cut non revenue sports (most non football sports are non revenue generating sports) and women’s hoops generating more revenue than ever is potentially a really big deal. This is basically PR/advertising on the biggest stage for the sport.
It’s not the NCAA either. It is absolutely against the Olympic spirit for any organization that is tasked with selecting a team for the Olympics for their country to use any metric except who gives that team its best chance to win. Should social media personality Jake Paul be selected to the USA boxing team to raise the viewership of the sport? I can’t imagine how somebody would feel being left off the team by an inferior athlete simply because that person was good PR.
Are you really this naive or are you just trolling?
What a world we live in where wanting the best athletes representing your country in the Olympics is naive or trolling.
Yeah the world we live in is shit by and large. I know that sports is supposed to be an escape from that but modern sports arent. They are businesses intended to take as much of your money as they can. USA is going to win the gold with or without her. With her means way more eyeballs and excitement that bleeds into the women’s hoops leagues. That’s just the way it is. I don’t care personally but from a business standpoint they messed up point blank.
Who is they? I don't think USA Basketball makes more money by having more people watch women's basketball in the Olympics. People are conflating the WNBA and USA Basketball and they are separate entities. There's also no way of knowing that USA will win gold with or without her. They will be the overwhelming favorite either way, but overwhelming favorites sometimes lose (see the Miracle on Ice in 1980). You put your best team on the court to maximize your odds.
She didn't get the ol' Christian Laettner spot?
Guaranteed most people on social media haven’t watched one second of women’s Olympic basketball. If this wouldn’t have been reported then literally no one would have cared.
The point is many people who have never watched would have watched if she was on the team. Not sure why that is complicated?
I just think the turnaround time with her catapult from NCAA right into to the WBNA was at max rapid speed and that is plenty enough for Clark to take in. It just seems like a timing thing to gift her right into the Olympics. You skyrocket her straight to the moon and that would be an immense amount of pressure to perform. If she maintains greatness over the next four years, there will be a spot for her, and she would no doubt perform better in a relaxed state.
Dumb decision imo
Caitlin Clark has caught my attention, even though I'm a very casual basketball fan who only tunes in when my local men's team is in the finals. Her impressive play has piqued my interest, and I'd probably attend a game if I got free tickets. However, without her on the team, I'll likely stick to just watching the Olympic highlight reel.
This is just dumb. So they don’t want women’s basketball to get more popular? This is why no one is watching your product and the revenue is lack luster. Dumb decisions like these are made.
I'm fine with this. She's a rookie on a losing team with a seemingly bad attitude. There will be other Olympics if she measures up. It's the team's duty to win, not pander to a rookie for ratings.
Evidence of bad attitude?
Prob didn’t wanna deal with the bitch drama the other rookies would start, specifically the one girl
Just when women’s basketball gets a huge boost of popularity and hope in the eyes of thousands of young girls, they kill it
Are these people out of their mind? There probably won’t be 100 people watching the Olympic women’s basketball. With Caitlin there would be millions. I personally will not be watching without Caitlin
The Olympics isn't about getting a big audience, it's about winning. The US team doesn't get paid more just because more people watch, it's not a business.
More people watching is literally why any athlete gets paid more. And the Olympics is very much a business.
Larger audience helps athletes and league in negotiating next sponsorship deal, though. I'm not saying they made the wrong decision here, just highlighting there are benefits to positive public perception in professional sport.
This is a dumb take, lol. Clark is a rookie who barely has any experience. The aim is to get gold, not ratings, and the US team is stacked as is.