Brittney Griner knows how tough USA Basketball officials have it.
As Brittney Griner prepares for her third Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the upcoming 2024 Games later this summer, her focus is clearly on continuing the global dominance of American women’s basketball rather than dwelling on Caitlin Clark’s omission from the roster for Paris.
When asked about Clark’s perceived snub from Team USA, Griner emphasized the difficulty faced by the USA Basketball selection committee in narrowing down the women’s roster to just 12 players.
“I don’t wanna be on that committee, you know? I’ve always said it—it’s a hard committee,” she said, as reported by Desert Wave Media. “There’s so many times each year on who is on the team, who isn’t on the team. It’s tough, it’s tough. I think anybody that’s on this team can go, can win. But we’ll see in the future how it goes.”
USA Basketball officially announced its final women’s roster for the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday. Joining Griner in Paris on a veteran-laden Team USA are Mercury teammate and fellow future Hall-of-Famer Diana Taurasi, reigning WNBA Finals MVP A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty teammates Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, Aces guards Chelsea Grey, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, do-everything Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, Mercury scorer Kahleah Copper, and Seattle Storm playmaker Sue Bird.
Selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti addressed Clark’s exclusion for the first time on Tuesday, emphasizing that her status as the WNBA’s most popular and marketable player did not influence USA Basketball’s decision-making process.
“It would be irresponsible for us to talk about her in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team,” she said of Clark, per ESPN. “Because it wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S. It was our purview to create the best team we could for [coach Cheryl Reeve].”
Caitlin Clark’s response to perceived Team USA snub
As the controversy surrounding Clark’s omission continued swirling, the Fever’s franchise player did her best to quell it. She not only expressed no disappointment at being left off Team USA but also wished the Americans well on their quest for an eighth straight Olympic gold.
“Honestly, no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for. That’s a dream,” Clark said, as reported by James Boyd of The Athletic. “Hopefully, one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that.”
“I’m excited for the girls who are on the team,” she continued. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could have gone either way of me being on the team, me not being on the team, so I’m excited for them. I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it’ll be fun to watch them.”
It’s worth noting that Ionescu, 26 years old and in the midst of her fifth WNBA season, is the least experienced player on Team USA’s roster. Continuity and comfort with the international game clearly loomed large to the selection committee, attributes Clark lacks compared to those headed to Paris.
The University of Iowa icon hasn’t exactly set the league ablaze early in her career, either. Though Clark is averaging solid numbers of 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and six assists per game, she’s shooting just 37.3% overall and 33.0% from deep while leading the WNBA in turnovers, unable to lift Indiana, just 3-10, from the bottom of the standings.
Still, anticipate Clark becoming a staple with USA Basketball in the future if she lives up to the unprecedented hype surrounding her arrival in the WNBA.
“She’s certainly going to continue to get better and better,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said of Clark. “We really hope that she’s a big part of our future going forward.”