Team USA’s women’s basketball squad is cruising toward the gold medal at Paris 2024, but not everyone is celebrating. If you’ve been keeping up with the action, you might have noticed a peculiar subplot unfolding: Caitlin Clark’s absence. Yes, the same Clark who’s been dazzling fans with her playmaking and scoring prowess in the WNBA is nowhere to be seen, and boy, does it have tongues wagging.
Let’s rewind a bit. Coach Cheryl Reeve’s team is rocking an undefeated record, having effortlessly sailed through Group C. In the quarterfinals, they’re set to face Nigeria—a team that might as well be a warm-up act at this point. Star players like Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson are lighting up the scoreboard, each averaging a sizzling 20.3 points per game. So, it’s all smooth sailing, right? Well, not exactly.
Cue the dramatic music: the plot thickens when you look at the scoring stats of Team USA’s guards, Chelsea Gray and Diana Taurasi. Here’s the kicker—between them, they’ve managed to put up a whopping four points in three games. That’s right, four. As in, “I could count that on one hand” four. And let’s not forget their shooting stats: a dismal 2/12 on field goals and a head-scratching 0/7 from beyond the arc.
Now, for the real twist. Enter the Twitter detectives. One user, StatMamba, unearthed this troubling stat and, of course, the internet went into meltdown. “Caitlin Clark, where art thou?” they cried, hinting that Clark’s offensive firepower might have been just what the doctor ordered.
Clark, the Indiana Fever’s ace, is hot on the MVP and Rookie of the Year lists. Yet, somehow, Team USA decided her talents were better suited to a front-row seat rather than the court. Fans took to social media with their pitchforks and torches. “And they said Caitlin Clark wasn’t ready,” they quipped. Others argued that with Clark in the lineup, Team USA would have been winning by 30 points instead of just, you know, cruising.
But before you grab your torches and pitchforks, let’s pump the brakes. Some critics pointed out that Clark wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire herself, with a recent 0/7 performance from three-point land. And let’s not forget her All-Star game debacle where she went 0/8. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason she’s watching from the sidelines.
So here we are, with Team USA on the verge of Olympic glory, and yet the shadow of “What If?” looms large. Will they win gold and still have fans grumbling about what could have been? Only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: Caitlin Clark’s absence is the plot twist no one saw coming.
