Team USA is progressively advancing toward winning the gold medal in women’s basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Despite the team’s significant improvement, certain players have not performed as expected, reigniting the issue about Caitlin Clark’s absence.
On Sunday, head coach Cheryl Reeve’s squad won first place in Group C and advanced undefeated to the quarterfinals. With one of the finest records in the group stage, the Americans will meet Nigeria, one of the lowest-ranked teams.
The squad has been dominant in all of its games, with forwards Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson leading the way in the group stage, averaging 20.3 points per game.
However, guards Chelsea Gray and Diana Taurasi are not among the best scorers in the Olympic event. Internet sleuths took note of this fact and instantly condemned Clark’s absence.
A tragic statistic
StatMamba, a Twitter user, brought attention to a worrying statistic. Gray and Taurasi have combined to score only four points in three games. Reeve’s starting guards shoot 2/12 from the field and 0/7 from three.
Gray played 6:09 minutes against Germany, recording two assists and two rebounds but scoring no points. Taurasi also played 6:09, with only one assist, no points, and no rebounds.
Clark, one of the top offensive guards in the WNBA, is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year and a contender for Most Valuable Player (MVP). Despite this, the USA Basketball selection committee declined to call her to the Olympic team.
The fans were furious.
Fans did not hesitate to share their thoughts on Twitter. “And they said Caitlin Clark wasn’t ready,” “Gee, I wonder if there is someone who could have helped that situation,” “CC could have done much better,” and “After watching a few games-CC averaging 10 & 10 easily and Team USA wins every game by 30,” were some of the comments in Clark’s favor.
However, several criticized the Indiana Fever guard. “Oh, that’s the same number of points Caitlin scored in her last game!” One said, “Uh, CC was 0/8 (by herself) in the All-Star game.” Another said, “CC was also 0/7 from three points.” So maybe they need Akibe! “I don’t think it matters because they’re winning without 3s!”
The disagreement is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Even if the team wins gold, fans and analysts will continue to speculate about what would have occurred if Clark had competed in Paris 2024. It is impossible to know.
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