Will Caitlin Clark play in the 2024 Olympics?
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark has been a dominant force in women’s college basketball, breaking records all while leading her team to its second consecutive championship game.
At 22 years old, Clark has already cemented herself as a basketball icon, and she’s just getting started.
During Monday night’s WNBA draft, Clark was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, which should come as no surprise since the team has been hyping up their draft pick since Clark declared for the draft on Feb. 29.
The Hawkeye, who became the leading all-time NCAA Division 1 basketball scorer, male or female, in March, has been credited with bringing a new wave of attention to the sport. In fact, the women’s championship game between Iowa and South Carolina had more than 18.9 million viewers on April 7, according to ESPN.
Similarly, the WNBA draft had 2.5 million viewers in the past year, Front Office Sports reported. The draft, which didn’t sell tickets to the event in years past, sold out in 15 minutes this year.
Ahead of the draft, Clark sat down with NBC correspondent Stephanie Gosk and spoke about how some new basketball fans include young girls who look up and idolize Clark.
“I think, you know, understanding how big of an impact that can have on a young girl’s life is super important. So, I always try to make as much time as I can for them. And just to see them scream your name or have your jersey on — that’s something that never gets old,” she told Gosk.
Could Clark Play in the 2024 Paris Olympics?
While Clark is aware of the impact she’s made and more people are taking notice of the sport, another potential opportunity lies ahead for No. 22 — the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The WNBA season tips off on May 14, just a month after the draft, and with the Olympics taking place from Friday, July 26, until Sunday, August 11, playing for Team USA is a possibility, and representing the United States would “mean everything” to Clark.
“That’s one of my dreams as a kid. Growing up, you always want to be an Olympic gold medalist. Lucky enough, I’ve been able to play for a few junior national teams in their basketball system, so I know how special it is to represent USA across your chest,” she said. “Being able to do that on the highest level would certainly be a dream come true.”
Breanna Stewart seeks third straight gold medal, would welcome Caitlin Clark to Team USA
The United States Women’s Basketball Olympic Team has a 12-player roster, and while the roster has yet to be announced, superstar and gold medalist Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, a former Team USA player, will likely make the roster, Clark looks to fill a spot following the draft, and veterans are welcoming the idea.
“I would love to have the opportunity to be teammates with Caitlin. The committee is in an interesting situation because we haven’t named our team yet, and we have more than 12 amazing players to be on this roster,” Stewart said in an interview. “I’m just excited to be playing alongside whoever is going to be there.”
Scheduling Conflicts
However, one problem stands in the 22-year-old’s way — the USA Basketball schedule.
During the Women’s Final Four earlier this month, the U.S. held a mini-camp in Cleveland before the WNBA season began, coincidentally enough, where Clark was for the NCAA tournament.
However, Clark would not be left with a lot of time to work out with the team before they leave for Paris; leading gold medalist and South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley to say the team can’t have a young player “take the spot (of a veteran).”
“It’s unfortunate because we can’t take a young player and have her take the spot (of a veteran),” Staley told USA Today. “We gotta win. We’re far behind the eight-ball with training, so we’ve gotta give (head coach) Cheryl (Reeve) the best 12 players.”
The Roster
As it stands, Clark, who was named to the USA Basketball women’s national team roster ahead of its training camp during the Final Four, is part of the 14-player roster invited for training camp. Of those players, 12 will be selected to represent Team USA at the summer games.
Clark, who won three gold medals with the U.S. junior national teams, will be in good company if selected to the official roster.
The 14-player training camp roster features the following players:
Breanna Stewart
Diana Taurasi
A’ja Wilson
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
