The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris officially open on July 26. The women’s 5×5 basketball competition starts July 28, with the women’s 3×3 competition tipping off on July 30.
Before the Games begin, here’s a look back at Swish Appeal’s coverage of the preparations for Paris by Team USA, the Canadian national team and the other national teams contending for a spot on the medal stand:
Team USA’s journey to another gold
Winners of seven-straight gold medals with an eighth expected, Team USA’s drama often occurs off the court, rather than on the court. “Who will be on the team?,” not, “Will we win?,” is the question that causes consternation.
This year, the scrutiny around of the selection process was intensified by the Caitlin Clark Effect, with fans and analysts marshaling various arguments to insist that the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft must be on the squad. That she wasn’t chosen indicates that USA Basketball, often accused of prioritizing things beyond basketball skill when selecting Olympic rosters, resisted falling prey to popularity, and all the intersecting biases that fuel it, when naming the final roster.
Furthermore, the selection process began long before the hotly-debated announcement in early June. USA Basketball began prepping for Paris last fall, with exhibition games against Duke and Tennessee.
Next was a February training camp, followed by the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, where the Americans, already having punched their ticket to Paris due to their status as the defending World Cup champions, faced a tough test from the Belgium before cruising to wins over Nigeria and Senegal.
USA Basketball hosted another training camp in April before the 12 who will head to Paris were announced in June.
On Saturday, Team USA took the court together for the first time only to be shown up by Team WNBA in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. Considering the Olympians also fell to the All-Stars in 2021, the loss should not cause alarm; rather, it underscores that the Americans must quickly establish cohesion and constantly maintain focus in order to meet sky-high expectations in Paris.
Team USA 3×3 seeks second-straight gold
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As Paris will be just the second Olympic Games to feature 3×3 basketball, the sport has yet to establish the cultural purchase of 5×5 basketball, meaning the composition of the final roster inspires much less inspection. Nonetheless, the right to represent the red, white and blue is quite the achievement for the quartet that will head to Paris. Unfortunately, an ACL injury will prevent Cameron Brink from enjoying that opportunity; instead, her Los Angeles Sparks teammate Dearica Hamby will join Rhyne Howard, Cierra Burdick and Hailey Van Lith in the quest for gold.
The foursome received a primetime test last Friday—and passed. Team USA defeated their U23 counterparts, 19-16, at WNBA All-Star Friday Night.
Canada’s medal quest
The Canadians sport their most talented team in program history, with a quartet of WNBA players looking to lead Canada to the medal that eluded them at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Qualification, however, was a bit of an adventure for the Canadians. After losing to Japan at the FIBA Women’s Olympic
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