This season, the USA women’s basketball roster has been a huge surprise, but not in a good way. Unexpectedly, WNBA rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, despite their impressive performances, were left off the roster. However, they aren’t alone, as WNBA MVP 2016 Nneka Ogwumike has also been snubbed from the 2024 USA roster- again. Her exclusion is even more shocking.

While rookies Clark and Reese lack WNBA experience, Ogwumike, the WNBA 2012 overall No.1 pick by the Los Angeles Sparks, boasts more than a decade of WNBA experience. Apart from her experience, she also has an average of 17.5 points per game, which makes her a standout. However, all this wasn’t enough to earn her a spot on the USA roster. However, she can look in a different direction.

Getting help from her Nigerian roots

Born to Peter and Ify Ogwumike, who immigrated to the USA in search of more opportunities, Nneka Ogwumike was born in Houston. While their father took up a job in Houston, their mother continued her career in the education sector. Despite hailing from Houston, the Ogwumike girls remain connected to their Nigerian roots.

This connection offers them the opportunity to enjoy dual citizenship, allowing them to play for their parents’ homeland. By doing so, she won’t be the first person on USA’s roster to opt for this option. For instance, Kristy Wallace who was drafted as the 2018 overall 16th pick, has been named to the Australian national team.

Just like her, Nneka Ogwumike has the option to opt for the Nigerian Team representing at the 2024 Pairs Olympics. This too after facing a rejection from USA’s Olympics roster. But, this is not something new for her as she was in the same situation at last year’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

However, once again, something unexpected happened. She was denied on her application by FIBA due to her long-term association with American basketball. This was devastating for her, and she appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. To the spectators’ surprise, even her court appeal was rejected.

Fast forward to now, the roster for the Team Nigeria playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics is already out and Ogwumike has missed her chance yet again. And that is not particularly surprising as she has a similar fate with Team USA in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics.

2020 Tokyo Olympics: a missed berth

It was the Tokyo Olympics, and Ogwumike was expected to be on the USA roster, as she was constantly reassured by her coaches and executives. In fact, she was among the eight core players for Team USA in 2019-2020. To that effect, she even signed a contract, giving up valuable opportunities to commit to the national team. But, as is known, it never happened.

On June 1, Ogwumike suffered a minor knee injury that cost her a month. After her injury, she immediately called director Carol Callan to inform her that there was plenty of time to recover before the Summer Olympics. “Carol was like, ‘Oh, well you and Diana [Taurasi] will be fresh,‘” Ogwumike told ESPN.

At the same time, Taurasi also suffered a fractured sternum and missed 10 games for the Mercury that season. Both Ogwumike and Taurasi were in similar situations. However, “She [Callan] said that the committee, they weren’t sure about my injury and that they wanted to go with a younger, more versatile player… That was the reasoning that they gave me over the phone,” added Ogwumike.

This conversation occurred before the official announcement that Ogwumike’s name was not on the list. However, just like this year, Taurasi somehow managed to get a spot. Surely, this hinted at some discrepancies within the USA selection committee.

Now, that something similar happened this year with her, there are chances that she might not sit back silent. Now the question is: Will the 2018 No. 1 draft pick question the Olympic selection committee? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.