Clark used the Olympic break to rest
INDIANA Fever star Caitlin Clark would have had a huge chance to make the Olympic roster had it been selected closer to the 2024 Paris Games, ex-Team USA coach Dawn Staley said.
The now-South Carolina head coach was part of the Women’s National Team Committee that put the team together.
Team USA selector Dawn Staley has said Caitlin Clark would have had a massive chance to make the Olympic roster had it been selected closer to the Paris GamesCredit: NBC
Clark missed out on the Paris-bound US women’s basketball team but made the 2024 WNBA All-Star GameCredit: Getty
Staley, 54, told NBC’s Mike Tirico that Clark’s game improved after the selection was made.
She said that the surge in form might have earned the WNBA rookie a spot on the Olympic team.
“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together [the] best team of players, the best talent,” Staley said.
“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, [she] wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team, because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people, shooting the ball extremely well.
“I mean, she is an elite passer. She’s just got a great basketball IQ and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months than she was two months ago.”
Clark, 22, shot below 30% from 3 and led the league in turnovers through the first weeks of the 2024 WNBA season.
In the month leading up to the Olympics, the 6-foot guard still turned the ball over a lot, logging 5.7 TOs per game.
At the same time, she averaged 18.8 points, 10.8 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals while shooting 44.5% from the field and 33.3% from 3.
In the last outing before the Olympic break, Clark broke the WNBA’s single-game assist record, dishing out 19 dimes.
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The Fever playmaker made the All-Star team, which beat the US women’s basketball team 117-109 in an exhibition game a week before the Paris Games began.
She then sent a classy message to the Olympians when asked if she felt vindicated by the result.
“No,” she responded.
“They’re really good. They have plenty of talent on that team.
“Four years prior I’m pretty sure Team WNBA beat Team USA, [and] they were perfectly fine in the Olympics.
“If anything, it shows how good this league is. It shows how much talent is in this league and how you have to show up and prepare every single night.
“There’s a lot of players that aren’t even here tonight that could be here too. It just shows the amount of talent we have.”
Team USA would start the Olympic women’s basketball tournament with a clash against Japan on July 29.
They would also compete in the group with Belgium and Germany.
Meanwhile, Clark used the few weeks off the court to rest, jetting off to Mexico with her boyfriend Connor McCaffery.
