NBA star Kevin Durant claimed Team USA was right to leave Caitlin Clark off its women’s Olympic roster, as the two-time champion said there were currently “better candidates.”
The decision to snub Clark, who starred at Iowa before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, was met with outrage as many argued that her enormous fame should have selected her.
But Durant, who will play in his fourth Olympics this summer in Paris, thinks it’s a little early for the Indiana Fever star.
“I still think you have to take the right steps in our world to be considered an Olympic athlete,” Durant said in a conversation with the Wall Street Journal.
“I think he will definitely be on one of these teams in the future, but right now I think there are better candidates.” But Caitlin has to keep showing up every day, and the WNBA is doing a great job showcasing her.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark left off US Olympic roster in controversial decision
But the Suns’ Kevin Durant has said he agrees with the decision to keep Clark home.
“I watch their games on ESPN every other day,” he continued. “I’ve seen conversations out there; no matter what they’re talking about, there’s a lot of dialogue about the game right now, so that’s good too.”
Clark, who was a two-time National Player of the Year at Iowa, is scoring 16.1 points per game at the professional level, but he’s also shooting just 38.3 percent from the field and turning over 5.5 turnovers a night.
However, her exclusion from the US women’s team was met with fury by many in the sports world, as Stephen A. Smith criticized the “idiocy” of leaving her at home.
“I want every woman on this team to know that each and every one of you deserves it,” she said on First Take. ‘Caitlin Clark doesn’t deserve a spot ahead of any of the players on this roster… if we’re just talking about basketball! You know we’re not!
And he added: ‘This girl is box office. I said a rising tide lifts all boats; especially if you’re Team USA and you’re trying to go global and there’s an opportunity to globalize the WNBA brand, so people like Brittney Griner and others don’t have to go to Russia in the offseason to play basketball for extra income. . …
“You could stay here if the sport increases in popularity and you ladies start getting what you deserve.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also insisted Clark deserved a roster spot, while WNBA legend Diana Taurasi, who will play in her sixth Olympic Games this summer, defended USA Basketball’s decision to leave her out. Template.
“The Olympic team is really just a collection of the best players,” he said. Yahoo Sports when asked about the decision to leave Clark off the roster. “But at the end of the day, American basketball always has a clear idea of what it needs as a team.
“I think people lose track of whatever, you have to make sure that 12 players fit together to make the best team, not necessarily the best players.” Whatever the 12 are, I think American basketball has always done a great job of putting together that collection of talent.”
Clark said she would support the US women to win gold despite being snubbed.
WNBA veteran Diana Taurasi also defended USA Basketball’s decision to exclude Clark.
Clark, for his part, said he would still be “cheering for them to win gold.”
“I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way, whether I was on the team or not,” he said.
“I’m excited for them, I’ll be rooting for them to win gold.” I was a kid who grew up watching the Olympics, it will be fun to watch.
‘Honestly, there is no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work towards. It’s a dream, I hope one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little bit more motivation. You remember it and hopefully, when four years go by, I can be there.”