One WNBA rookie possesses the basketball prowess, marketing power and pure panache to join the U.S. women’s basketball roster for the 2024 Olympics.
And it’s not Caitlin Clark.
Angel Reese is a better fit to serve as an alternate for the 5-on-5 squad in Paris – even if Clark’s longtime rival did not attract the same furor over her exclusion from the official 12-player roster for Team USA.
This piping-hot take does follow a wave of them in the wake of Clark’s perceived Olympic snub. Yet the argument for Reese does have a basis in the reality of roster construction – and in the context of the WNBA season, in which Reese is competing with Clark for the Rookie of the Year award.
The first-year stars will go head-to-head for the second time in their WNBA careers at noon ET Sunday when Clark and the Indiana Fever host Reese and the Chicago Sky. Ahead of that matchup, here’s why Reese is at least as deserving as Clark of consideration from USA Basketball.
MORE: How Angel Reese is making her case in the Rookie of the Year race
Why Angel Reese is a better fit than Caitlin Clark for Team USA
I projected Clark to make the 12-player roster for USA Basketball’s 5-on-5 team for the 2024 Olympics. Count me among the many who believed the pull of her widespread popularity – coupled with her obvious talent – would be too great to pass up.
Plus, the U.S. squad could use a youth infusion. This year marks the first time in Olympic history the team will not feature a player under the age of 25. Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu are the youngest at 26.
Yet therein lies a problem for Clark. A glance at the roster shows Ionescu is the player who took what could have been Clark’s spot – and not undeservedly so.
Ionescu is averaging 17.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game, with fewer turnovers (3.1) than Clark. Clark, 22, is averaging 15.6 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 5.5 turnovers. With Ionescu already in the fold, Clark may not be the most useful alternate unless Ionescu herself goes down with an injury.
The USA Basketball player pool is also deeper at guard. Guards take up seven of the 12 roster spots, with the WNBA’s second-leading scorer in Arike Ogunbowale left off the list. Ariel Atkins, Allisha Gray and Skylar Diggins-Smith, all of whom have significant Team USA experience, are also waiting in the wings.
MORE: Biggest snubs from 2024 USA Basketball Olympic roster
Several strong post players were snubbed as well, including Brionna Jones, Dearica Hamby and Aliyah Boston. Indeed, Jones is reportedly one of the top options to serve as an injury replacement — USA Basketball isn't expected to name an official list of alternates but does have a short list of potential substitutes. And the 6-3 power forward for the Connecticut Sun could box Reese, another 6-3 power forward, out of contention.
Still, more so than Clark, Reese could fill a potential positional need at a thinner position group. And like Clark, the 22-year-old could bring a youth movement to the squad to set the stage for the future of the program.
Reese is also surging at the right time. In addition to her 12.2 points per game, she is averaging 10.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game – both of which rank fifth in the WNBA.
With a double-double in each of Chicago’s last five games as of June 15, she is in the thick of the Rookie of the Year race alongside Clark (and Cameron Brink, another rookie post player who is already headed to Paris as a member of the 3-on-3 team).
Does Reese have what it takes to be an Olympian? For an answer, look no further than Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon.
“Does she have what it takes? She's showing it,” Weatherspoon said. “She has what it takes. You're doggone right she has what it takes.”
While Reese does not attract the same overwhelming attention as Clark, she undoubtedly would draw eyeballs to the women’s basketball competition at the Summer Games. She and Clark skyrocketed to national fame at the same time in the 2023 NCAA Tournament final, in which Reese and LSU defeated Clark and Iowa to take the title.
Reese may not have quite the same sway as Clark over the national sporting conversation, but she brings an even greater social following, with 6.7 million followers across Instagram and TikTok – more than double the total of Clark (2.9 million). And she knows how to use them, posting frequently across platforms.
BENDER: Clark's Olympic exclusion is a big mistake for USA Basketball
USA Basketball did not take marketing into consideration when compiling its 12-player roster, as selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti noted.
“It wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S.,” Rizzotti said.
Yet arguments for Clark’s inclusion on the team did take those factors into account. So even if the committee does not acknowledge it, Reese’s social media savvy should be seen as a boon.
Reese does share some of the same flaws as Clark, particularly in the eyes of the selection committee – namely, her lack of experience with the senior national team.
Both Reese and Clark are also in the midst of their eighth consecutive month of basketball. They both rolled straight from the NCAA postseason into the WNBA Draft, followed quickly by training camp and the 2024 season. Both could use several weeks of rest and recovery, which the Olympic break would provide.
When USA Basketball considers potential injury replacements for the Olympic team, though, Clark is one of the players expected to be at the top of the list – while Reese, at least so far, has not been in the conversation.
That should change as the national team considers its present and prepares for its future.
