Two weeks after the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics took place in late July, the Summer Games have come to a close.
On the final day of the Olympics, the United States was neck and neck with China for the top spot on the overall medal count but took care of business to claim first for the fourth consecutive Olympic Games with a total medal count of 126 (40 Gold, 44 Silver, 42 Bronze).
Both 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 women’s basketball competitions played a large role in that total, with the USA squads taking home a medal from Paris. The 5-on-5 squad narrowly edged France to earn Gold for the eighth straight time, while the 3-on-3 team overcame a slow start to play by claiming Bronze.
Let’s look back at the run from both USA teams, as well as which players added an Olympic Medal to their trophy cases.
5-on-5 Competition
It was another year, another display of domination in 5-on-5 play for the United States … at first.
As we’ve seen in past Olympic Games, Team USA — led by Minnesota Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve as head coach — got off to a red-hot start, ending the group phase with a perfect 3-0 record and a 19.3-point average margin of victory over Japan, Belgium and Germany.
The path to a gold medal wouldn’t be as easy as the group phase was for the USA. Team USA did breeze past Nigeria in the quarterfinals as well as Australia in the semifinals to advance to another Gold Medal Game, but in the final game was where the Americans had their hands full.
In the battle for gold, the USA faced a talented France squad that had six current WNBA players on its roster. Team USA got off to a concerningly slow start against France, trailing by as much as 10 at one point and putting serious doubt on if gold would be obtainable.
In the end, the USA ended up battling back, pulling out in front late, and avoiding a game-tying shot at the end of regulation by mere inches to top France 67-66. With the win, Team USA claimed its eighth straight gold medal and extended the impressive Olympics winning streak to 61 in a row.
Along with the gold medal, A’ja Wilson took home FIBA MVP, also earning FIBA First Team honors alongside Breanna Stewart and Australia’s Alanna Smith. WNBA representatives on the Second Team included Belgium’s Julie Vanloo, Germany’s Satou Sabally and Australia’s Ezi Magbegor, while the Rising Star award was given to Australia’s Jade Melbourne.
3-on-3 Competition
The United States comprised of Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith got off to a slow start in the pool play round of the 3-on-3 competition, but turned things around to still take home a medal.
Team USA started the pool round 0-3, falling to Germany, Azerbaijan and Australia while causing some doubt as to whether the Americans would end up reaching a medal game. But the USA turned things around in a hurry, winning its next five games and entering the semifinal round.
In the semifinals, Team USA fell to Spain, dropping the Americans into the Bronze Medal Game against Canada. The USA squad ended up taking down the Canadians 16-13, bringing a bronze medal back to the United States. Germany ended up claiming gold, while Spain finished with a silver medal in 3-on-3 play.
Medal Winners
In our preview before the Olympics Games began, we provided the full list of WNBA players participating in either the 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 competition.
Of those names, here are the players who took home a medal in Paris:
Napheesa Collier (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Kahleah Copper (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Chelsea Gray (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Brittney Griner (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Sabrina Ionescu (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Jewell Loyd (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Kelsey Plum (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Breanna Stewart (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Diana Taurasi (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Alyssa Thomas (USA, 5×5) — Gold
A’ja Wilson (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Jackie Young (USA, 5×5) — Gold
Marine Johannès (France, 5×5) — Silver
Bec Allen (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Ezi Magbegor (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Jade Melbourne (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Alanna Smith (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Stephanie Talbot (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Kristy Wallace (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Sami Whitcomb (Australia, 5×5) — Bronze
Dearica Hamby (USA, 3×3) — Bronze
Rhyne Howard (USA, 3×3) — Bronze
Focus Shifts Back to the WNBA
With the Olympic Games now over, play in the WNBA regular season resumes within a matter of days. The 2024 campaign starts back up on Aug. 15, with the trade deadline soon after on Aug. 20.
The final stretch of the regular season includes the final 15 or so games of the year for all 12 squads, with the final date of the regular season taking place in just over a month on Sept. 19.
The last few weeks have been action-packed and entertaining in the Paris Olympics, but now it’s time to put that behind us and retake focus on the WNBA season. Enjoy the rest of the year, basketball fans.
