The United States Women’s Basketball Team began its run through the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday afternoon with a group-stage game against Japan. But despite a sign taunting Team USA for the decision not to include Caitlin Clark on the roster, the team proved it didn’t need her on Monday night.
During pregame warmups, a Japanese fan in the stands attracted some attention from Team USA with a sign suggesting that the team made a mistake by not including Caitlin Clark on the Olympic roster and it would cost them.
“You need Caitlin Clark to beat us,” the sign read.
Team USA 👀 a sign that reads, “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.” USA-Japan tipping off shortly. pic.twitter.com/ymyJ6mSuXQ
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) July 29, 2024
Team USA clearly saw the sign and took notice. Team USA star A’ja Wilson was the first to see the sign and she quickly pointed it out to the rest of her teammates who looked at it with amusement.
But when the game began, Team USA quickly proved the fan’s sign wrong. They did not, in fact, need Clark to win that game.
Team USA dominated Japan from start to finish, outscoring them in every single quarter on their way to a blowout win by a final score of 102-76.
There’s certainly an argument to be made that Clark deserved to make this team, but that doesn’t mean Team USA isn’t still dominant without her or that they need her in order to win the gold medal. And they proved that on Monday.
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