USA Basketball seems willing to do the right thing, but not the fun thing. Call it a rare victory of reality and competition over marketing and money.
Even the biggest Caitlin Clark fan in America can appreciate that; a victory for what should be instead of what normally happens.
The US women’s basketball Olympic roster began leaking this weekend, news that, before this year, only mattered to the most die-hard fans of women’s basketball.
The 12-player roster will reportedly feature Kahleah Copper, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Alyssa Thomas, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young, according to multiple media. points of sale.
Not on the list: Clark, who is the most popular basketball player in the country.
The selection committee consists of South Carolina head coach and former USA coach and three-time Olympian Dawn Staley, LSU assistant coach and three-time Olympian Seimone Augustus, Old Dominion coach and two-time Olympian DeLisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA executive Bethany Donaphin.
Due to American dominance, women’s basketball is generally one of the least dramatic and discussed competitions at the Summer Olympics. The United States has won nine of the last 10 gold medals, including seven in a row dating back to 1996 in Atlanta.
The average margin of victory in the gold medal match during that stretch: 23.4 points.
Unless you’re a fan of uneven, non-competitive basketball, it’s hard to get too excited about the Olympics.
That is unlikely to change in Paris next month. The general market consensus is that the United States is -1800 to win the gold. The team is so loaded, especially compared to other countries where the game is generations behind, that it must have been tempting for USA Basketball to give a final roster spot to Clark.
Even if it was just selling t-shirts to fund the growth of the operation, she would make sense on that level. Additionally, a sport that attracts little attention on the crowded Olympic calendar would receive a significant boost.
Some WNBA purists may question or even bristle at Clark’s popularity, but as the old saying goes, in matters of taste, the customer is always right. Much of the public loves her, her game, her story, etc. Logo 3s can be more attractive than a properly executed box-out.
There’s no denying that Clark has generated massive television ratings, sponsorship dollars and attendance, even as he adjusts to the professional game (from the grind of competition to shoving on the court) for a pretty terrible Indiana team.
The Olympic Games are a golden marketing opportunity for all sports. That is why in 1992 the then commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, pushed for his stars to form a “Dream Team”, not only for the American public but to achieve global appeal.
Thirty-two years later, many of the league’s best players are internationals: Luka Dončić (Slovenia), Nikola Jokić (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) and debutant Victor Wembanyama (France), among others.
Caitlin Clark isn’t Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson (yet), but she’s the biggest thing to come to women’s basketball in a long time, if ever.
So even if she’s not currently one of the 12 “best” American players, would they put her on the list, if only to attract the attention of top players? In a subjective decision, should this count?
Forming a team is not necessary. This is not, say, qualifying for the 100 meter dash. It’s about who crosses the line first (or second or third). There is no quantifiable way to measure a basketball player, and like any team sport, things beyond points and rebounds have value.
Maybe you need a defensive specialist. Maybe you need an extra center. Maybe you just need someone who will put in a lot of effort in practice even if he knows he won’t be playing the next day.
Maybe you need the next generation of leaders to try the Olympics. Both Taurasi and Stewart formed teams as rookies. That original men’s Dream Team took Christian Laettner, straight out of Duke.
Or maybe you need someone to get fans excited.
Not that Clark’s presence was going to embarrass me. She may not have proven to be better than those on the roster, but her early WNBA career shows that the 22-year-old can play with them. On Friday, she dropped 30 points to Washington…in front of 20,333 fans, the largest crowd the league has seen in 17 seasons.
Most notably, she would still be much better than almost any opponent. The United States is going to win anyway.
So the path to putting Clark on the roster was there for USA Basketball. It was a little twisty, but it was there.
Instead, we apparently opted to simply send our best team.
What you bring to the court matters more than what you can bring to the income stream or social media.
It’s no longer a popular concept in the United States, but you have to give credit to the women’s national team for continuing to use it. Paris may not be all that fun, but it’s hard to get too upset about it.