Chiney Ogwumike Shuts Down Caitlin Clark Getting Snubbed Narrative in Support of Team USA: “More Concerned About Entertainment Than Truth”

“I think it just gives you something to work for. It’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there,” said Caitlin Clark on Sunday while confirming that she isn’t on this year’s national team roster. The minute this was revealed, many went into a tiffy, the least of which was due to Clark’s rising marketability.

From the L.A. Times calling out the officials of USA Basketball to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith labeling their decision as ‘The Idiocy of Team USA Women’s Basketball’ to exclude Clark from the roster as ‘stupid’, it’s no doubt a bitter pill to swallow for fans and experts alike.

Sparks’ Chiney Ogwumike and the pedal to the medal

In the recent episode of Nightcap, Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike shed some light on the matter and said, “I think the hardest thing is that oftentimes when we’re in a debate format, people are more concerned with entertainment than the truth and the truth is that I have a lot of lived experience into why she probably was not selected and I said it before it’s largely based off of experience,” pointing out that people prefer entertainment over what’s real.

Elaborating how key plays by seasoned athletes can decide a team’s fate while going against international competitors, she added, “I don’t know if people realized that earlier this year Team USA almost lost to Belgium it took a buzzer-beater by Breanna Stewart to win. The rest of the world is coming.”

She then talked about the Basketball Africa League, which is trying to grow at the global level. More so, Ogwumike also touched upon people’s favoritism over Clark along with their ignorance of the ground realities, and said, “I think people haven’t realized the level of competition is so fierce that you don’t want to take a chance of at this iteration potentially maybe having a player that has no familiarity with the roster no experience at that high level.”

Notably, the youngest players on the USA Team roster are 26, whereas Clark is only 22. Moreover, none of the rookies made it to the roster. In the past, there have been other remarkable players with better resumes than Clark, but they too have been snubbed off the spot.

For example, the 2x WNBA MVP, Candace Parker wasn’t included in the Rio Olympics roster, and Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike’s sister watched the national team winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics from her home screen. Let’s explore who made it to the national team roster and why.

Going to the Olympics

“The youngest player on the roster is probably Sabrina Jesu who’s a first-time Olympian but we’ve seen what she’s done in the league there the previous uh Olympians they’ve all had nine at least nine players have had Olympic experience so like if you look at what they instructed they know that the world is coming,” stressed Chiney Ogwumike, describing the competitive experience and familiarity needed to playing on the most competitive team around the globe.

The Team USA roster includes 2x WNBA Champ, Kelsey Plum who earlier won gold in 3×3 hoops at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Later on, Plum was promoted to the 5×5 roster due to her sharp performance. Then there are Olympians, Sabrina Ionescu, Alyssa Thomas, and Kahleah Copper, who all have a well-established career in the W and also won the 2022 World Cup held in Australia.

Other players making it to the roster include A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Grey, Brittney Griner, and Jackie Young.

So for Clark, it will be wise that is given another 4 years to grow into the league and find her way up the ladder. “The game of basketball is all about evolving. It’s all about getting comfortable with your surroundings… College basketball is much different than the WNBA than it is overseas. Each one almost is like a different dance you have to learn,” as Diana Taurasi said about the difference in competition there is among collegiate basketball, professional basketball, and international basketball.