WNBA legend Sue Bird called the embarrassment of talent riches available to the United States “a gift and a curse” because it inevitably means star players will get bypassed for major tournaments.
Bird cited Candace Parker in 2016 as the most notable example in an interview with Rachel Nichols on Open Run. This summer, Caitlin Clark’s omission from the 2024 Summer Olympics squad sparked a lot of conversation.
“It’s the reason for the dominance. We have so much talent,” Bird said. “We’ve always said—and not said it lightly—we could probably field another Olympic team, another World Cup team. And so sadly, that always leads to this idea of snubs.”
When USA Basketball named its 12-player Olympic team, Clark was averaging 16.3 points on 37.3 percent shooting along with 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Her production was solid for a rookie but not necessarily good enough to automatically consider her one of the 12 best American players. Missing out on the national team camp in April because she was in the Final Four with Iowa proved costly as well.
Maybe the United States would’ve been better with Clark instead of another guard in Paris. Winning an eighth straight gold medal at least refuted the notion Team USA needed the Indiana Fever rookie.
As long as she stays healthy, Clark is all but a lock to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
By that time, her rivalry with the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese may have helped to lift women’s basketball to another level. Bird told Nichols the sport has had rivalries before but has not captured the attention in the same way Clark and Reese have.
“The fact that these two they literally stole the college stage, both with their play and their trash talk, and then they’re taking into the WNBA,” she said. “It’s just going to mean good things for the landscape of women’s basketball, so I’m all for it. I think it’s great. They’ve come in and they’ve taken over.”
Viewership for the 2024 Summer Games was up across the board compared to the Tokyo Games. Staging the event in the U.S. all but ensures it will get strong ratings among American fans, and having Clark and Reese on Team USA would only generate more excitement.
