Predicting the LA 2028 Team USA Olympic Women's Basketball Roster (2024)

So far, the 2024 USA women's basketball team has reinforced the importance of veteran presence on an Olympic roster. This squad, with five players over the age of 30, has dominated international play and has remained undefeated on its way to the semifinals vs. Australia on Friday.

It's clear that management knows what it's doing with its picks (and controversial omissions). Wednesday's quarterfinal win was Team USA's 59th straight Olympic victory. Meanwhile, the team sits two victories away from an eighth straight gold medal.

We're locked into the current run of course, but with such a bright present and future in the WNBA with loads of incoming talent, a part of us can't help but wonder what the next iteration of Team USA will look like in 2028.

As we're following along with the latest excellence in Paris, let's just take a second to imagine what the 2028 roster could look like when the Summer Games hit Los Angeles.

With careers spanning longer and longer these days (thank you, science!), there's less certainty with potential retirements. There is also an aforementioned heightened importance of experience.

Considering there isn't one player younger than 26 on the current roster, I'm leaving projected USC phenom Juju Watkins—who would likely be in her second WNBA season—off the roster. The highly touted guard prospect will only be 23, and "comparables" (they're all very different players, but age- and anticipation-wise) Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were left off the roster at 22 years old.

Granted, Watkins will be a year older with a year of WNBA experience under her belt next Olympics, so it's slightly more likely. But the decision-makers have historically gone for older players, and there are more than enough great options.

On the other end of the spectrum, if anyone could play in the league at 46 years old, it'd be Diana Taurasi. That said, many expect the 42-year-old legend to retire after her sixth Olympics and 20th WNBA season this Summer. We'll see, but it's at least more likely than not that she'll retire before the 2028 games. It's a bit harder to project Brittney Griner's retirement trajectory since she'll be 37 in 2028, but I'm going to err on the side of at least slowing down.

Starters: Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu

Backups: Jackie Young, Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum, Arike Ogunbowale

It's pretty impossible to decide between starting Young and Ionescu four years down the road. Young is getting more minutes this year, and is putting up 10.3 points per game to Ionescu's 6.3, but the New York Liberty star thrives in the assist column and has Young beat there with four per game to Young's 1.5 and 2.3 rebounds per game compared to Young's 2.

Having Clark out there further complicates this decision, since Clark is such a prolific passer on top of her shooting.

We'll have to see how the next few years play out for Young and Ionescu, who are both 26 and continue to hover at the top of the WNBA in points. Perhaps Ionescu's known passing prowess will encourage Clark to shoot more. But Young has stepped up with the intangibles big time this Olympic run. Ah, we'll see.

Beyond that, who isn't pumped for a well-seasoned Bueckers to enter the league next season? The UConn guard is the projected No. 1 pick in next year's draft, so she'll have a few years of pro play under her belt by 2028, and she'll be 26.

I have a feeling Plum will have a great time taking on a veteran role for this squad as she'll be 33, and I have an equally strong feeling that Ogunbowale will have a chip on her shoulder after not being a part of the Paris-bound squad.

Starters: Breanna Stewart, Angel Reese

Backups: Napheesa Collier, Cameron Brink

Stewart looks unstoppable for Team USA right now, averaging the second-highest points per game with 18.5, tying for second in rebounds with 5.8 and averaging 2.8 assists. She's doing it all, as she does in WNBA play for the Liberty, and I'm not counting on her slowing down too much at 33 in 2028.

Collier is also crushing it in Paris, tied with Stewart for second in rebounds per game and providing her trademark defense while contributing 6.3 points per contest. They'll both make the 2028 roster if they just keep being themselves. Reese's consistency, rebounding power and overall game will likely only grow by the time she's 26, so she gets the starting nod.

Brink, who was set to be a part of Team USA's 3x3 entrant before she tore her ACL, will have ample chance to show why she was touted as a can't-miss prospect ahead of this past draft by the time the L.A. Games roll around. If nothing else, she'll bring the elite rim protection that saw her block 5.2 shots per 100 possessions across 15 games this season—a league-leading mark among players who've appeared in as many contests.

Starters: A'ja Wilson

Backup: Aliyah Boston

WNBA MVP favorite A'ja Wilson has brought her utter dominance to the international stage these Games, and it's been unbelievable to watch. She leads the undefeated team in points per game (20.3) and rebounds per game (10!), while adding 2.5 assists. Business as usual in the middle of what could be a historic WNBA season statistically.

She'll be 32 by the time the L.A. Games roll around and has been one of the faces of the U.S. program for years, making her a near-cinch for the roster.

Meanwhile, Boston—last season's Rookie of the Year and the other half of the Fever's dynamic duo of No. 1 picks alongside Caitlin Clark—is one of only three WNBA players to have averaged at least 14 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting over 40 percent from three during this season and last. Granted, that last number was on low volume, but did we mention she's only 22?

Starters

Caitlin Clark, G

Sabrina Ionescu, G

Breanna Stewart, F

Angel Reese, F

A'ja Wilson, C

Reserves

Jackie Young, G

Paige Bueckers, G

Kelsey Plum, G

Arike Ogunbowale, G

Cameron Brink, F

Napheesa Collier, F

Aliyah Boston, C