How Caitlin Clark Can Still Make US Women’s Olympic Basketball Roster

The United States women’s Olympic basketball team’s roster is set, and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark did not make the team, to the chagrin of fans, who wanted to know why the most popular player in the WNBA was not on the squad.

Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo made an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up and sought to answer that question, explaining that Clark, who was unable to participate in national team practices or games due to Iowa’s deep run into the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years, simply didn’t have the experience that Team USA decision-makers have traditionally preferred to see.

But just because Clark isn’t on the Team USA roster now, doesn’t mean that she won’t be at some point.

As Lobo explained, and as The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported, Clark, along with Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones, is one of the top alternates for Team USA. That means she would likely be one of the first candidates considered should a player currently on the roster drop out due to injury or another reason.

For example, if Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray, who hasn’t played since suffering a foot injury during Game 3 of the 2023 WNBA Finals, isn’t fully healthy and is forced to drop out of the Olympics, Team USA could then potentially turn to Clark.

Whether Clark somehow makes the Team USA roster this year or not, she will almost certainly be on the team come 2028 when the Olympics takes place in Los Angeles.

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, has averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 33% from beyond the arc in 13 games played for the Fever (3-10) this season.