When the brain trusts at USA Basketball decided to leave Caitlin Clark off the Olympic roster, it seems they might have been suffering from a collective brain freeze. The Indiana Fever guard just delivered a jaw-dropping performance against the Dallas Wings, leaving fans and pundits scratching their heads and Joe Pompliano steaming mad.
Joe Pompliano, never one to mince words, took to social media to vent his frustration. “Caitlin Clark now has the third-best odds to win WNBA MVP after setting a league record with 19 assists in a single game. The decision to keep her off the Olympic team is indefensible at this point,” he raged on X (formerly known as Twitter, for those still adjusting to Elon Musk’s renaming whims).
The 24 points, six rebounds, and a dazzling 52.6% field goal percentage were impressive enough, but it was Clark’s 19 assists that truly stole the show. She didn’t just break a record; she obliterated it, surpassing Courtney Vandersloot’s previous mark of 18 set in 2020. The feverish fever dream of a performance naturally reignited the debate over her glaring omission from the Paris 2024 squad.
Pompliano, a businessman and influencer who’s no stranger to stirring the pot, couldn’t help but pour gasoline on the fire. He blasted the decision-makers, highlighting Clark’s meteoric rise and her undeniable star power. “Clark is already one of the league’s best players — and when you combine that with her popularity — she should be on the team,” he declared, all but handing the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) a dunce cap.
USA Basketball’s roster announcement on June 11 was supposed to be a moment of triumph, but instead, it sparked a controversy that shows no signs of cooling down. Clark’s absence was met with protests louder than a referee’s whistle in a silent gym, and her stats since the snub have only fanned the flames. Before being passed over, she was averaging a respectable 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. Since then, those numbers have jumped to 17.9 points and 9.1 assists per game, making her omission even more puzzling.
Despite the drama, Clark remains humble and focused on the game. After her record-breaking performance against Dallas, she simply said, “I just try to set my teammates up for success. I think at times I can almost over-pass, and there could have been a few times that instead of passes that lead to turnovers, I can probably shoot the ball.”
As Clark continues to elevate her game, it’s clear that USA Basketball’s loss might just be the Fever’s gain. And who knows? If she keeps this pace, maybe the decision-makers will have enough sense to put her on the team for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Until then, we’ll just have to keep enjoying the show and wondering what on earth USA Basketball was thinking.
