USA Olympic women’s basketball roster: Projecting Caitlin Clark, other WNBA stars for Paris 2024

The U.S. women’s basketball team is seeking a seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2024. To continue that dominant streak, Team USA will need to find the recipe for success.

The cupboard is overflowing with ingredients, but head coach Cheryl Reeve and her staff need to find the right mix. Should they lean on youth with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston? Should they prioritize veteran leadership in Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner? Should they pilfer from the playbook (and the roster) of the back-to-back WNBA champion Aces?

Which players should Team USA bring to Paris? We take our best guess at the 12-player roster for the 2024 Summer Games.

MORE: Will Caitlin Clark play for Team USA at 2024 Olympics?

Team USA women’s basketball roster predictions for 2024 OlympicsBackcourtCaitlin Clark, Fever

Will Clark make the cut or not? Either way, the decision will be the most controversial point of the Team USA roster. But with Taurasi playing in her final Olympics, expect USA Basketball to step into the future with Clark’s selection. 

When asked if the 22-year-old sharpshooter should go to Paris, Lisa Leslie told Sporting News: “One thousand percent. I can’t even let you get the question out. I don’t know how you leave the country without her.”

Kahleah Copper, Mercury

The 2021 WNBA Finals MVP is excelling in her first season in Phoenix,averaging 24.7 points and 4.9 rebounds through her first seven games. Copper is showing just the kind of versatility Team USA will want to see from her in Paris.

Chelsea Gray, Aces

A member of the gold medal-winning 2021 Olympic team, Gray is a lock for another Olympic appearance – if she is healthy enough to play.

The 31-year-old point guard has not played yet this season for Las Vegas as she recovers from a foot injury sustained in the 2023 WNBA Finals. But she did participate in USA Basketball’s April training camp.

Jewell Loyd, Storm

Another 2021 Olympic champion, Loyd won the WNBA scoring title in 2023 (24.7 points per game, 939 total). The 30-year-old also finished as the second-leading scorer at the Olympic qualifying tournament, behind only Napheesa Collier. That scoring touch should cement her place on the roster.

Kelsey Plum, Aces

While Plum won gold at the 2021 Summer Games, she did so as a member of the inaugural 3×3 team alongside her Las Vegas teammate Jackie Young. Both she and Young could make the leap to the 5×5 roster this time around.

MORE: Breaking down Aces star Kelsey Plum’s endorsement deals

Diana Taurasi, Mercury

The 41-year-old is on the quest for her sixth Olympic roster spot – and her sixth Olympic gold. While the latter is a question mark, the former is a certainty (barring injury).

Taurasi will take on a similar role for Team USA to the one Megan Rapinoe played for the U.S. women’s national soccer team at the 2023 World Cup — the elder stateswoman won’t receive a ton of minutes, but her fiery personality will drive the squad.

Jackie Young, Aces

Young rounds out the three Aces guards included on this list. As a guard-forward, the 26-year-old offers valuable flexibility to the coaching staff.

With A’ja Wilson in the frontcourt, that would place four Las Vegas starters as the building blocks of the Team USA roster – after all, as back-to-back WNBA champions, they know how to win.

First player out: Rhyne Howard, Dream

If the USA Basketball coaches emphasize building toward the future, Howard could slide ahead of one of the Aces’ trio.

The 2022 WNBA rookie of the year is averaging 19.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season, and she’d certainly be a help to the squad. The only mark against her is the incredibly deep pool of guards available for selection.

Also considered: Ariel Atkins, Mystics; Skylar Diggins-Smith, Storm; Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty; Allisha Gray, Dream; Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Liberty; Arike Ogunbowale, Wings.

MORE: Caitlin Clark vs. Diana Taurasi “beef,” explained

FrontcourtNapheesa Collier, Lynx

While Collier didn’t see the floor much in her first Olympics in 2021, she figures to play a much bigger role this time around. She led the team in scoring in February’s qualifying tournament.

She also benefits from a close connection to Reeve, who coaches Collier in Minnesota.

Brittney Griner, Mercury

Griner won’t just make the Team USA roster as a feel-good story – though her return to the international stage after her 10-month detainment in Russia is that as well.

The two-time Olympic champion averaged 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with the Mercury in 2023. Her mission for 2024: Get healthy in time for a third Olympic run. She’s dealing with a toe fracture in her left foot, which has kept her sidelined through the early part of the WNBA season.

Breanna Stewart, Liberty

The reigning WNBA MVP, Stewart also is one of the most decorated players for Team USA, with two Olympic and three World Cup gold medals under her belt.She played the most minutes for Team USA at the Olympic qualifying tournament in February, and she’ll be a workhorse again in Paris.

Alyssa Thomas, Sun

The runner-up for the 2023 WNBA MVP award, Thomas finished between Stewart and Wilson in the voting. That company alone should tell you how valuable she could be to Team USA in her first Olympic appearance.

While the 32-year-old forward ranks just 20th in the WNBA in scoring this season (14.5 points), she is fifth in rebounds (9.0) and second in assists (7.8).

A’ja Wilson, Aces

The reigning WNBA Finals MVP won gold with Team USA at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

She’s only gotten better from there.

So far in 2024, Wilson leads the WNBA with 13.2 rebounds and sits second in scoring with 26.2 points per game.

MORE: What we know about A’ja Wilson’s Nike shoe deal

First player out: Aliyah Boston, Fever

The 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year is off to a rocky start in her sophomore campaign, at least relative to her debut season. She is averaging 11.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, both down from last year’s stats.

While she participated in February’s Olympic qualifying tournament and both training camps so far this year, Bostoncould find herself squeezed out of an experience-laden frontcourt.

Also considered: Shakira Austin, Mystics; DeWanna Bonner, Sun; Tina Charles, Dream; Dearica Hamby, Sparks; Nneka Ogwumike, Storm.