To the surprise of no one, the No. 1 overall pick of April’s WNBA Draft is making headlines again.
From the moment she has set foot on a WNBA court, Caitlin Clark has been all everyone can talk about. Whether it be about her basketball ability, other players disliking or being jealous of her, and most recently; being snubbed from Team USA ahead of the Paris Olympics.
While she has been going through some major growing pains in the WNBA on a team that is clearly two years away from being a year away, many fans and analysts alike thought the new face of the league would get the nod. However, when the roster was revealed recently, Clark’s name was noticeably absent, sparking another major debate about how the WNBA is not maximizing her branding potential,
It has fans again split, but according to WNBA legend Rebecca Lobo, it seems it was a decision that was made well before the public got wind of the possibility she’d be left off.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) talks to Seattle Storm guard Victoria Vivians (35) following being run into after making a three-pointer, Thursday, May 30, 2024, during the WNBA game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Joe Timmerman/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
When making an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, Lobo was asked if it was the right or wrong decision to leave Clark off of the roster. While she didn’t necessarily provide an answer on it being the correct choice, she provided Mike Greenberg with context as to what set the other players who made the roster apart from Clark.
“And I’m going to start by giving you some context Greeny [Greenberg],” prefaced Lobo when answering if Clark should have been on the roster or not. “When it comes to forming the women’s Olympic team It’s a three-year process. They started having training camps back in February of [20]22. They had training in April of [20]22, then the World Cup in the fall of [20]22. They had multiple training camps throughout the course of 2023 and then this year in February they went overseas for exhibitions, they had a training camp this April.
“So all of them women who are in the pool and all of the women who ended up reportedly being on this roster participated in many of those. And why is that important? Well because of the timing of the WNBA season, the WNBA takes a break during their summer season for the Olympics. And the Olympic team has seven practices before they participate in the Olympics. So all of these women that you’re seeing on the graphic that are reported to have made the roster have played with one another.”
She continued, explaining that Clark simply hasn’t been able to partake in any of the practices or training camps leading up to the Olympics.
“All of them have had opportunities now over the course of the last couple of years to learn Cheryl Reeve’s system. To learn one another. To learn some of the opponents that they’re going to face in the international game,” explained Lobo.
When it came to Clark specifically, Lobo said it wasn’t her fault she didn’t make the team, it was more of a timing issue.
“Now Caitlin Clark through no fault of her own was not able to participate in any of those training camps. She would have either last year in April of 2023 or in April of 2024 except her team was playing in the Final Four. So she did not have that chance, and the other point, I mean Caitlin Clark is an exceptional player. She is going to be a multi-time Olympian as long as she stays healthy. The conversation that no one adds is who are you taking off of that roster to put Caitlin Clark on?”
Clark has assured the media and fans that she isn’t bothered by the decision but is instead motivated by it. In fact, she reportedly told Fever coach Christie Sides “Hey coach, they woke a monster.”
While fans won’t get to see her in action in the stars and stripes just yet, there is a major possibility she will make her Olympic debut in 2028 which is set to be in Los Angeles.
