Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese Projected for 2028 Team USA Roster
· Yahoo Sports
USA Today's Mitchell Northam published a projected Team USA roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on Monday. It came one day after the Americans beat France 97-79 in Berlin for their fifth consecutive FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup title.
Northam's 12-player projection includes Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Olivia Miles, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, JuJu Watkins, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young.
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He listed Wilson, Stewart, Collier, Young, and Gray as locks and a possible starting lineup. Northam wrote that Bueckers, Clark, Boston, and Reese would probably make the team as the program's rising faces. Miles, Watkins, and Howard filled the last three spots.
Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers Among Rising Team USA Faces
Boston, Bueckers, Clark, and Howard are the WNBA's past four Rookie of the Year winners. All four played in their first major 5-on-5 international tournament in Berlin. They were among seven players on the World Cup roster making that debut.
Nine of the 12 players in the projection played at the World Cup. Miles and Watkins were not on the team. Wilson and Kelsey Plum made the original roster but withdrew with injuries before the tournament, and Washington Mystics teammates Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen replaced them.
Wilson was leading the WNBA in scoring at 26.0 points per game when she withdrew. Before the tournament, Team USA coach Kara Lawson said conversations about Wilson's status went through USA Basketball managing director Sue Bird.
"I didn't have any conversation with A'ja, I think that was more with [Bird], so I don't have a timeline," Lawson said. "Both of them have obviously been great players for us. I'll miss being around them, but ultimately, we've kind of moved on."
World Cup Core Could Carry Into 2028 Olympics
In Berlin, Stewart led the U.S. in scoring at 12.8 points per game and in rebounding at 7.3. Clark led the team with 5.3 assists per game. Howard averaged a team-high 2.3 steals.
Stewart had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the final and was named tournament MVP. Team USA went 6-0 and rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit against France.
Lawson, the head coach at Duke, is leading the national team through the 2028 cycle. She won Olympic gold as a player in 2008.
The 2028 Games will be the U.S. women's first major tournament on home soil since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. That tournament started a run of eight consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Several Stars Remain in Mix for Final Olympic Spots
Northam also listed 10 players to watch: Shakira Austin, Mikayla Blakes, Sonia Citron, Kahleah Copper, Hannah Hidalgo, Sabrina Ionescu, Kiki Iriafen, Rickea Jackson, Kelsey Plum, and Sarah Strong.
He named Cameron Brink and Lauren Betts, who have attended multiple Team USA camps under Lawson, as possible additions if they have breakout seasons.