Five Things I Like: 2024 USA Basketball Women’s National Team

The group stage is well underway, with just five of the 12 teams in play undefeated through two games. With a pivotal third game set between the United States and Germany this Sunday, both teams are undefeated, and each team faces a difficult test.

The USA Basketball Women’s National Team has infamously gone 57 straight games without a loss in this ultimate international tournament, a streak that winds back to before the turn of the century. What stands out about HOW this team is winning and what they’re working towards as they seek another Gold medal?

Here are 5 things I like about how the United States started playing.

A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart’s Dominance

Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson led the way for Team USA as they clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. 👏 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/BidkZX7yXn

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 1, 2024

Wilson and Stewart are special no matter the field of play, but there’s just some kind of magic when they have The United States printed on the front of their jerseys. The team is currently averaging 94.5 points per game, the only country scoring over 80 points a contest on average: Wilson and Stewart are combining for 47.5 of those points, Wilson with 23.5 per game, and Stewart at 24 per game.

While multiple players are putting together phenomenal stretches of play, Wilson and Stewart have unquestionably been the two best players in the field.

Although the final scores of double-digit margins may tell a different story, these games have been competitive, particularly Thursday’s matchup with Belgium. This group is still finding its best lineups, aligning with how it wants to play, and ironing out some of the inconsistencies that are to be expected with a talented group that’s not accustomed to sharing the court.

The star duo has been pivotal in pushing the US to a higher gear that other teams frankly haven’t been able to match.

Transition Play

Per Synergy Sports, no team in the field is playing in transition more than the US. Almost 21% of all offensive possessions for the Americans have come out of transition, where they’re adding 22 points per contest. 

What’s been most fun to watch is how the US is thriving in transition and early offense. A’ja Wilson has dominated with early buckets by sprinting and sealing or straight-up outrunning her matchup for easy points. Breanna Stewart has been huge in how she’s created with early ball and drag screens. The US has often deployed a guard to screen for Stewart when she’s bringing the ball up, creating an incredibly difficult mismatch for the opposition that leads to easy points often: Stewart is scoring 10 points per game in transition. The next closest players are Julie Vanloo (Belgium) and Ezinee Kalu (Nigeria), with 6 each. 

Oh, and Stewart is also shooting 81.8% in transition.

Alyssa Thomas’ Spark Play

Thomas has played a key role for the United States. Every player on this team is a star, and Thomas herself was in the WNBA MVP conversation last season. However, she fits in with her ability to scale down and smooth the offense for others while also injecting the defense with intensity. She makes quick reads and passes, cuts hard, screens well, and attacks the glass with gumption, doing all of the outlier things necessary to keep possessions alive.

In the Belgium game, the United States struggled to contain Julie Vanloo early on, as she was dynamic in pick-and-roll and shooting off the dribble. Thomas was pivotal in turning defense to offense in the second quarter, helping to slow down Vanloo and deny some of the interior looks Belgium created.

Her switchability, freneticism at the point of attack, and quickness attacking in the break were a dynamic the United States needed in that second quarter. Thomas’ play, paired with Jewell Loyd getting hot and turning it up defensively, changed the game.

Sabrina Ionescu’s Shotmaking

The United States is 9 of 34 from deep through two games, in a bit of a slump from outside as a team. However, Ionescu has hit 4 of those triples for the US, shooting 44.4% from deep herself and hitting an absolute bomb from long range to close the game against Belgium and expand the point differential.

Point differential is a key decider in group play, often used as a tiebreaker as teams advance. While the United States luckily won’t have to worry about tiebreakers in group play, building any sort of cushion is important.

As a team, they’ll need to find consistency from deep as the event wears on, but Ionescu has proven herself a steady outlet in the early goings.

Jackie Young’s Defense

As the United States has worked through a plethora of lineups and combinations on the court, Jackie Young has not been featured heavily. That’s part of the game with 12 All-Stars and All-WNBA caliber players all on the same team.

However, with her minutes in the 4th quarter against Belgium, she’s making a case for a larger role. Belgium was exceptional at getting into the paint and playing off those skip passes out. Containing Julie Vanloo was a back-and-forth battle for much of the affair.

Young would play just 9 minutes in the game, but those minutes were key in helping to push the game open, expanding the US’ lead to double digits and not looking back.

Young was instrumental in fighting through screens and staying attached to Vanloo, not letting her get a clear path to the basket. Her defense on the perimeter bought time for Wilson and Stewart on the backline to roam and muck up drives when they did come into the lane, sparking the final run that would secure the lead fully and eventually the game.