A’ja Wilson fired up to silence doubters in the Olympics
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson is on track to land her third MVP award, stuffing the stat sheet for her surging squad roughly halfway through the regular season. That campaign will have to wait, however, as she’ll be representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while the WNBA season pauses for international competition.
The USA women’s basketball team has won nine of a possible 12 gold medals since joining the Olympics in 1976, including each gold medal since they took home bronze in 1992. A 2024 gold medal would mark eight straight first-place finishes for the squad that’s won 54 consecutive Olympic games.
Wilson ackowledged that on the international stage, many will be praying for Team USA’s downfall after such a dominant streak.
“A lot of people want to see us fail, and some are rooting for us, so we really pay attention to the ones that are rooting for us and leaning on that and making sure that we’re ready for the moment,” she said. “And I think we are.”
She’s joined on the roster by three of her Las Vegas teammates — Jackie Young, Kelsey Plumm and Chelsea Gray. It will be the first Olympics for Young and Plumm, as well as for fellow players Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu and Phoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper.
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Lloyd, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and captain Diana Taurasi round out the squad and are all seeking their next gold medal.
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the team won all six of their games by an average margin of 16 points. Wilson averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the tournament.
In the 2022 FIBA World Cup, she averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 boards per game en route to a first place finish in Syndey. It was Team USA’s fourth straight world cup victory.
Wilson, teammates paying tribute to past USA teams
Wilson mentioned that winning another gold medal is something not just important for her and her teammates, but for the entire legacy of the USA’s women team.
“We were just talking about the legends that have come before us to lay the foundation now, and it’s so key for us to continue to play the game that we love, but just for them as well,” she said. “That’s a lot on our shoulders. But we do it with grace because we know the standard is gold.”
She expressed the utmost confidence in her star-studded squad heading off to Paris this summer.
“Our roster is crazy good, so, we’re ready for anything,” she said.
Team USA plays their first game on July 29 against Japan, the team they knocked off for the gold medal in 2020. They’re a part of a Group C that also includes Germany and Belgium.
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Edited by Rajdeep Barman
