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Caitlin Clark is taking the high road after her Olympics snub.
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Being the biggest name in women’s basketball wasn’t enough for the Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark to be named to Team USA’s Olympic roster.
While USA Basketball has not yet made a formal announcement, a list of the 12 players bound for Paris was leaked and confirmed on the weekend.
Not to worry, the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft said.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” Clark told reporters Sunday. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way — me being on the team or me not being on the team. I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them.
Her omission shocked many, who figured the 22-year-old phenom was a no-brainer for inclusion on the team, given her skillset.
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“Are we really trying to grow the game? Because this is the most popular women’s basketball player in the world and it ain’t close,” Shannon Sharpe said on ESPN sports talk program First Take. “ So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we’re really trying to do? Or are we just talking about ‘we’re trying to grow the game’ and just bull jiving?”
Clark plans to use the situation as a spark.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for; it’s a dream. Hopefully, one day, I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
According to Fever coach Christie Sides, Clark got the news last Friday and responded by telling her coach “they woke a monster.”
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She is reportedly among the favourites to serve as a replacement player should there be an injury among the 12 invitees.
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The U.S. roster doesn’t include any players under 26.
The Americans have had at least two players under age 25 on every other Olympic roster dating to the 1976 Montreal Games, when women’s basketball debuted as an Olympic sport.
The Olympics are slated for July 26-Aug. 11.
In 12 games with the Fever, the Des Moines, Iowa, native is averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
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