It’s been quite a while since someone other than the United States won the Olympic gold medal in women’s basketball. After coming in third place during the 1992 Olympics, the team has won every year since, with each of the last seven golds coming back to the United States.
Next up for the Americans is the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where the squad will once again enter with expectations of winning the whole thing. To add to the fun, there’s a chance that Caitlin Clark joins the team — she was invited to a Team USA training camp that took place in April, but could not participate due to the Iowa Hawkeyes making it to the Final Four. And in a recent piece by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Hall of Fame inductee Lisa Leslie made clear that she believes Clark has to wear the red, white, and blue this summer.
“She better be on the Olympic team,” Leslie said. “We should not leave the country without her. She’s a bona fide baller. There’s no doubt she’s already one of the best players in the world.”
It is presumed that Clark is about to become the No. 1 overall pick to the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft, which takes place on Monday. This will come on the heels of her second consecutive National Player of the Year campaign at the University of Iowa, which featured a number of NCAA career records getting set and back-to-back appearances in the national championship game.