10 things to know about the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team

The explosion of interest in women’s basketball this year could reach yet another level at the Olympics. The U.S. team has stars, newcomers, and a lot of Philly flavor, and they’ve come together in France to try to win another gold medal.

Their quest starts Monday against Japan (3 p.m., USA Network, Universo, Peacock), a day after the tournament as a whole tips off. Group games will be in Lille, about two hours north of Paris, then the elimination rounds will be in the big city.

Here are 10 things to know about the U.S. team:

» READ MORE: How to watch Team USA women’s basketball at the Olympics, from tune-up games to medal rounds

Let’s get this out of the way first. If Clark is the only women’s basketball player you know or care about, no, she isn’t on the Olympic team. When the team was picked in early June, it was an easy decision to justify: she was still getting settled in as a rookie in the pros and hadn’t done much with USA Basketball before.

Once an Olympic team is set, there’s no turning back unless there’s an injury, and there hasn’t been one. But Clark has come quite far with the Indiana Fever. She’s scored in double figures in every game but one since the roster announcement; had the first triple-double by a WNBA rookie on July 6 vs. New York (19 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds); and set the WNBA single-game assists record with 19 in her last outing before the Olympic break.

None of that will change history, and Clark doesn’t seem to mind. She’s barely had a day off since starting her final college season at Iowa last fall, and said at the All-Star game last weekend that she’s thrilled to finally get a break.

Having said that, you can make a pretty strong case that Ogunbowale is a bigger omission. The Dallas Wings star is averaging 22.3 points, 5.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game this season and just dropped 34 points on Team USA in the All-Star Game.

She admitted last month that she took her name out of the Olympic pool a while back, said “politics” in the program were why, and this month told ESPN: “I wasn’t feeling like they really wanted me on that team, so I just removed myself.”

As with Clark, it’s water under the bridge now. We’ll see how much the decisions cost the U.S. in France.

» READ MORE: Arike Ogunbowale sets scoring record as WNBA All-Stars capture win over Team USA

That’s Washington Township High School and La Salle alumna Cheryl Reeve, and she’s the third straight U.S. women’s coach from our region. North Philly’s Dawn Staley led the 2021 cycle, and Norristown’s Geno Auriemma led the 2016 cycle.

Reeve’s day job is head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, where she’s been since 2010. She’s led the team to four WNBA championships (2011, ‘13, ‘15, and ‘17), and has been the league’s coach of the year three times (2011, ‘16, and ‘20).

Interestingly, Reeve didn’t pick the Olympic roster — at least not officially — even though she has to coach it and take most of the questions about it. USA Basketball has a selection committee that includes Staley (South Carolina’s head coach), ex-Olympians Seimone Augustus and DeLisha Milton-Jones (also in the college coaching ranks), WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin, and chairperson Jen Rizzotti (the Connecticut Sun’s president).

» READ MORE: Without Caitlin Clark, Cheryl Reeve is in a no-win situation at the Olympics. She bears some of the blame. | Mike Sielski

That’s every Olympics since 1996. The Americans have won every game they’ve played at the Olympics since the 1992 semifinals, when they lost to what officially was called the Unified Team — unofficially the former Soviet Union’s countries, since the breakup had happened just a few months before. Then the U.S. beat Cuba to win bronze.

The Americans have lost only three games at the Olympics, ever: that one in 1992, and to Japan and the gold-winning Soviets in 1976. The U.S. won silver that year, in a tournament that was just a round-robin of six teams.

Four years later, the whole U.S. delegation boycotted Moscow, where you’ll be shocked to know the Soviets won gold. Then came 1984 in Los Angeles, when the U.S. won gold, and it won gold again in Seoul in 1988.

» READ MORE: Dawn Staley knows best that Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso’s greatest days will come as pros

We talk all the time about how the world of men’s basketball has caught up to the United States. It’s happening in the women’s game, too. Eleven of the 12 teams in the field have at least one current or former WNBA player, and many teams have multiple.

The U.S. should win gold. But Canada could deliver a test later in the tournament, featuring Los Angeles Sparks veteran Kia Nurse (Donovan McNabb’s niece, by the way) and dynamic Washington Mystics rookie Aaliyah Edwards. France will hope to ride the momentum of home-court advantage and former New York Liberty sharpshooter Marine Johannès.

The team to really watch is one in the U.S.’ group: Belgium. Emma Meesseman is a force in the post who won the 2019 WNBA title with Washington and is a two-time All-Star; and point guard Julie Vanloo has impressed this season with the Mystics. When the U.S. played Belgium in February, it took a Breanna Stewart buzzer-beater for the Americans to win. Clear your calendars for Thursday, when they meet again (3 p.m., USA Network, Peacock).

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The legendary 42-year-old Phoenix guard is the first six-time Olympian in basketball history. Believe it or not, there have been many Olympians over the years who’ve competed in at least six Games. If you follow soccer, you might know of Brazilian women’s legend Formiga, who played in seven; or Marta, who’s playing in her sixth. The record-holder is Canadian equestrian rider Ian Millar, who was in 10 Olympics from 1972 to 2012.

There have been 11 five-time basketball Olympians between the men and women. You’ve heard of some of them, including women’s legend Sue Bird and NBA stalwart Pau Gasol. Taurasi’s selection this year was a bit controversial because of her age, but she’s been playing well enough to quiet many of the critics.

» READ MORE: Life as a WNBA rookie can be tough — even for Caitlin Clark. Here’s how these Philly-area players adjusted.

Of course you like offense. Who wouldn’t? But it’s good to play defense too, and Thomas is a rock in the post. The Harrisburg-area native, an 11-year veteran of the Connecticut Sun, gets it done at both ends of the floor: 11.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game this season. Last season, she was the runner-up in WNBA MVP voting.

There are more famous players on this team, including in the frontcourt. You can bet, though, that when the time comes to lock down a win, Thomas will have a key role.

» READ MORE: Meet the South Jersey sportswriter who’s literally written the book on women’s basketball

This hasn’t been talked about enough as it maybe should be: these Olympics are Griner’s first major international tournament since she was freed from a Russian prison in late 2022.

Griner is in her second WNBA season since her return, and has spent all 11 of her campaigns with the Phoenix Mercury. (She played abroad in the offseasons to make more money because of how low WNBA salaries have been over the years, which is why she was in Russia in the first place.) She has been open about all she has gone through, and has relished the chance to come back to the national team.

“It means everything to me, honestly,” Griner told the Associated Press in a recent interview about getting back in a U.S. jersey. “For me to now have the honor to wear it again and potentially win gold is icing on the cake for everything.”

There was an even better moment in a video of when Griner was told she was “invited” to the Olympic team.

“Of course,” she said. “Come on now, of course.”

» READ MORE: Brittney Griner honored to be wearing a USA Basketball jersey again after time in Russian prison

If you’re a WNBA fan in Philly, you probably watch the Liberty a lot. They’re the closest team to here, and they’re on national TV often, so you know this. But if you don’t, seriously, just watch her.

Stewart, who as a kid played for the Philadelphia Belles AAU team (though she’s from Syracuse, N.Y.), simply can do it all. She can score inside and outside, defend, pass, you name it. She’s a two-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA MVP, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, and there’s every reason to believe she’ll be a dominant force in the spotlight again.

» READ MORE: Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud bring Philly flair to the Phoenix Mercury: ‘They’re our spark’

Her stats this season are jaw-dropping: 27.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. The two-time reigning WNBA champion (and last year’s Finals MVP) with the Las Vegas Aces had double-doubles of points and rebounds in her last six games before the Olympic break.

On the international stage, Wilson has won golds at the 2018 World Cup, 2021 Olympics, and 2022 World Cup, where she was the tournament MVP. Now she’s one of four Aces on this squad, along with Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young.

As with Stewart, if you’re new to women’s basketball this summer, you’re going to learn fast about how great Wilson is.

» READ MORE: Check out all of our Olympics coverage

Yes, we made you wait. But this is The Philadelphia Inquirer, after all, so you probably had a good guess about who’d be at No. 1.

But Copper isn’t here just because she’s from North Philly. Her first year in Phoenix after a bombshell trade from Chicago last winter has been the best scoring year of her career, 23.3 points per game playing with Taurasi, Griner, and Broomall native Natasha Cloud.

Copper narrowly missed the 2021 Olympic team and narrowly made the 2022 World Cup team. This time, she was a no-doubter. And if she wins gold, she’ll join Staley, Elena Delle Donne, and all the rest of the Philly hoops legends who’ve won the biggest prize of all.

I’m just grateful to be a part of that conversation,” Copper told The Inquirer earlier this month. that’s a legendary conversation to be a part of, when we talk about Philadelphia basketball history and legends that have come out of this city.”