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Caitlin Clark has spoken out about her exclusion from Team USA for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Confirming reports from June 8 that she will not be on the roster, the WNBA rookie expressed support for the players who made the cut. "I'm excited for the girls that are on the team", the Indiana Fever star told reporters. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world and I know it could've gone either way".
The 22-year-old received a phone call about the news before the reports were made public and stated that she felt "no disappointment"; upon learning she was left off the roster.
Fever coach Christie Sides shared that Clark received the call on the team bus and texted her about it, saying, "The thing she said was, hey coach, they woke a monster", which I thought was awesome.
12 WNBA veterans made the team. The roster includes Olympic newcomers Kahleah Copper, 29, from the Phoenix Mercury, the connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas, 32, and the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, 26, along with nine players who competed in the 2020 Olympics: the Las Vegas Aces' Kelsey Plum, 29, Jackie Young, 26, Chelsea Gray, 31, and Aja Wilson, 27; Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, 29; the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier, 27; Seattle Storm's Jewell Loyd, 30; and Mercury stars Diana Taurasi, 41, and Brittney Griner, 33.
This will mark Griner's third Olympic appearance and her first time playing professional basketball overseas since being freed from a Russian penal colony in December 2022. Griner, who previously played on a Russian team during the WNBA off-season, spent 10 months in detention for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Despite her exclusion, Clark expressed her continued support for Team USA. "I was a kid who grew up watching the Olympics, so it'll be fun to watch them", she said, adding that she hopes to be included on Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. "I
think it just gives you something to work for. Hopefully in four years, I can be there".
Team USA's first women's basketball game at the 2024 Paris Olympics, against Japan, is set for July 29.
