WNBA rookie Kaitlyn Clark will compete in Paris next month. Summer OlympicsAccording to multiple reports.
The 22-year-old star has been left out of the U.S. national team, The Associated Press and The Athletic reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. No official announcement has been made yet.
The Associated Press, which obtained the full roster from a person familiar with the decision, reported that while Clark will not travel to Paris, the United States is expected to field a star-studded team in pursuit of another gold medal.
The United States women’s basketball team has won every gold medal since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Team USA is expected to send five-time gold medalist Diana Taurasi to her sixth Olympic Games. Taurasi will be joined by Phoenix Mercury teammate Brittney Griner, who will be playing her first international match since serving 10 months in a Russian prison in 2022. Griner has said she will only play overseas for the Olympics.
Joining the pair will be Olympic veterans Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Jewel Loyd and Chelsea Gray. Also joining the team will be Kelsey Plumb and Jackie Young, who helped the U.S. win its first gold medal in the 3×3 event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The team will feature a number of first-time Olympic players, including Alyssa Thomas, Sabrina Ionescu and Kalea Copper, all three of whom played on the U.S. team that won the 2022 World Cup in Australia.
Taurasi, who turns 42 before the Paris Games begin, will set to break the basketball record for most Olympic appearances. Five players, including former teammate Sue Bird, hold the record of five appearances.
The U.S. team will train in Phoenix for a few days in July before heading to London for a friendly against Germany before traveling to France.
The U.S. will face Japan, Belgium and Germany in Olympic pool play.
Men’s Basketball The members were announced in April.
