Should Caitlin Clark be on Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris? Dawn Staley thinks so
With the Olympics now in full swing, it seems strange to discuss athletes who aren’t participating. Yet, Caitlin Clark isn’t any ordinary athlete, is she?
From her lengthy list of collegiate records to the television ratings she brought the game, Caitlin Clark has been something to behold. That is of course before we even touch on her selection as the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, her monumental introduction to the league - more ratings followed - and the recent assists record that she set. To that end, it was shocking, to say the least, when Clark’s name was omitted from Team USA’s Olympic roster for Paris 2024.
Dawn Staley admits Caitlin Clark should be in Paris
For some the comments will come as vindication, for others they will be the cause of frustration. For Caitlin Clark herself, one can only guess. Whatever the case, the fact is that a senior member of the USA Basketball women’s national team committee has admitted that Clark’s snub was a mistake. Speaking in a brief interview during the Olympics on Sunday, one of college basketball’s best coaches, Dawn Staley, gave an honest take on Clark’s exclusion and she basically said what we were all thinking.
It’s interesting to note that when addressing the committee’s final roster decision back on June 11th, Staley did say that Clark “wasn’t playing like she’s playing now”, referring to her shaky start to life in the WNBA vs. the explosion we saw in the weeks leading up to the Olympics. “As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together the best team of players, the best talent,” Staley said. “Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now.”
Staley didn’t stop there either. “If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people. Shooting the ball extremely well, I mean she is an elite passer, she’s just got a great basketball IQ, and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game than she was two months ago.”
For context, Clark has averaged 17.9 points and 10.4 assists in 13 games since her omission, and there is also that aforementioned assists record which she set at 19 for a single game. At this point, we’re dealing in ‘what ifs’ but when you look at the numbers Clark has been putting up, it’s hard not to entertain the idea that the selection committee may have jumped the gun on Clark. Will that stop Team USA from an eighth consecutive gold medal? We can’t say but should they fail to secure it, many will wonder. As for Clark and the Indiana Fever, they’ll play their next game on August 16th against the Phoenix Mercury.