U.S. women’s national team committee chair Jen Rizzotti laid out on Tuesday how the Olympic women’s basketball roster was selected and why Caitlin Clark is not among the 12 players headed to Paris for this summer’s Games.
The Fever rookie was absent from the list submitted by the organization’s board for approval last Monday for a few reasons, Rizzotti said. The committee prioritized players who are familiar playing with each other and within Olympic coach Cheryl Reeve’s system. (Clark did not attend a senior Team USA training camp during this Olympic cycle as she was competing in the Final Four with Iowa during USA Basketball’s final camp in April.)
“We were supposed to be giving Cheryl a team that has experience and familiarity with international competition, familiarity with the coaching system, leadership abilities, versatility, depth at every position,” Rizzotti told The Athletic. “The 12 that we selected, we felt were the best when it boiled down to a basketball decision.”
The roster features nine players who have participated in prior Olympics (including 3×3 competition) and is made up of WNBA MVPs, All-Stars and All-WNBA honorees with plenty of USA Basketball experience.
First-time Olympians:
🇺🇸 Alyssa Thomas — @connecticutsun
🇺🇸 Kahleah…
