The star-studded United States women’s basketball team looks to secure a seventh consecutive gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Top-ranked Team USA has won its last 49 Olympics games, with 48 of those wins coming by double digits. The team has taken home the gold medal in the last six Olympics, since 1996, for a total of eight gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
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The U.S. holds numerous Olympic records, from most individual points scored in a single game (Lisa Leslie, 35, in 1996 vs. Japan) to most team points (121 in 2016 vs. Senegal) to most Olympic games played (Diana Taurasi in 2004, ‘08, ‘12, ‘16). The team will be returning two veterans in Taurasi and Sue Bird, who have each won four gold medals.
The U.S. team has a wealth of Olympic experience as half of the players participating in Tokyo won gold at the 2016 Rio Games. It enters the competition as the heavy favorite.
All games will take place at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.
Here’s what you need to know about Team USA, the new tournament format and the schedule:
Roster
Ariel Atkins (Guard, Washington Mystics)
Sue Bird (Guard, Seattle Storm)
Tina Charles (Center, Washington Mystics)
Napheesa Collier (Guard/forward, Minnesota Lynx)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (Guard, Phoenix Mercury)
Sylvia Fowles (Center, Minnesota Lynx)
Chelsea Gray (Guard, Las Vegas Aces)
Brittney Griner (Center, Phoenix Mercury)
Jewell Loyd (Guard, Seattle Storm)
Breanna Stewart (Forward/center, Seattle Storm)
Diana Taurasi (Guard, Phoenix Mercury)
A’ja Wilson (Forward, Las Vegas Aces)
Coaches: Dawn Staley (head coach), Dan Hughes (assistant), Cheryl Reeve (assistant), Jennifer Rizzotti (assistant)
Format
The Olympic basketball tournaments are moving away from the two groups of six teams used in the past and instead will have three groups of four this year. The top two teams from each group, as well as the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.
Pool A: Canada, Serbia, South Korea, Spain
Pool B: France, Japan, Nigeria, USA
Pool C: Australia, Belgium, China, Puerto Rico
Schedule
Preliminary round games
July 27: USA 81, Nigeria 72
July 30: USA 86, Japan 69
Aug. 2: USA 93, France 82
Quarterfinals
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Aug. 4: USA 79, Australia 55
Semifinals
Aug. 6, USA 79, Serbia 59
Gold medal game
Aug. 7, 10:30 p.m. ET: USA vs. Japan
Players to watch
When the roster was revealed in June, coach Dawn Staley said in a statement: “The fact that some of the players who won’t suit up this summer would start for any other country is a testament to their talent and to what USA Basketball has done to build a program that lifts up our female athletes every single day.”
A’ja Wilson, Jewell Loyd: Both are pursuing their first Olympic gold and have already won FIBA World Cup gold medals. Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP, is averaging 19.4 points in 21 games this season. Loyd is coming off the best season of her seven-year career with an 18.1 points per game average.
Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird: About to compete in their fifth and likely last Olympics, Bird and Taurasi are joining elite company, as only six athletes worldwide have competed in five Olympic basketball competitions. Each donned a USA Basketball jersey for the first time in 2000. Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champion, became the first player in WNBA history to reach 9,000 career points in June at 39 years old. A 12-time All-Star, Bird is currently averaging 10.9 points and 5.5 assists at 40.
Napheesa Collier: The youngest player on the team at 24, Collier will be on the world stage for the first time at a FIBA senior five-on-five competition, along with Skylar Diggins-Smith, Ariel Atkins and Chelsea Gray.
Other teams to watch
Spain: While Team USA is the overwhelming favorite, Spain is contending for a medal after capturing silver in 2016. In the 2020 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the No. 3 world-ranked Spaniards averaged 74.7 points per game, 38 rebounds and 23 assists.
Nigeria: Of the trio of well-known sisters in the U.S., Erica and Chiney Ogwumike are on the Nigerian roster, after FIBA denied Nneka's opportunity to play for their parents' native Nigeria because of her "significant involvement" previously with Team USA. Chiney, who at first encountered problems when trying to play for Nigeria, was eventually cleared as a naturalized citizen and granted a spot on the roster. Nneka's appeal of FIBA's original ruling, however, was denied Monday.
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Nneka and Chiney are both Stanford graduates who were taken No. 1 in the WNBA Draft in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Youngest sister Erica was drafted into the WNBA in 2020 but did not make a roster. The 2016 WNBA MVP, Nneka won gold medals for the U.S. at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2014 and 2018. But she was left off of the U.S. roster for Tokyo, which caused a stir on social media and led to her attempt to play for Nigeria.
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(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
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