Many basketball fans were surprised to see Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark left off the Team USA roster, including NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Per The Athletic's Sam Amick, Silver said from his standpoint as someone who oversees both the NBA and WNBA, he would have liked to see Clark included on the team.
"I wouldn't say I'm disappointed, but it would have been nice to see her on the floor," Silver said. "There's no question that she's one of the most popular players, at this point, in the world. The ratings demonstrate that, the amount of interest we're seeing in her. But again, my mandate is a bit different than USA Basketball's. My job is to get more people to watch and love basketball. USA Basketball has a very specific mandate about fielding the best possible team, from a competitive standpoint, and I accept that they all did their jobs the way they were instructed to. So, we'll see."
Clark, who became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer during her final season at Iowa last year, has had a profound impact on the growth of women's basketball with the WNBA achieving record sales and TV ratings.
While she has helped popularize the sport to a global audience, the selection committee felt it was best to include an experienced roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
"We were supposed to be giving (Olympic coach) Cheryl (Reeve) a team that has experience and familiarity with international competition, familiarity with the coaching system, leadership abilities, versatility, depth at every position," the Committee told The Athletic. "The 12 that we selected, we felt were the best when it boiled down to a basketball decision."
Clark won't be competing in this year's Olympics, but Team USA still boasts a tremendous roster that will be searching for an eighth consecutive gold medal.
ESPN @espnTHE 2024 USA WOMEN'S OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM IS STACKED 🤩<br><br>The roster is according to multiple reports. <a href="">
While Clark fell short of being selected for this year's Team USA roster, it seems inevitable that she will be a headliner for the team for years to come.
