Apart from Diana Taurasi, if there is any legacy one can view as an example in women’s basketball, it has to be Sue Bird’s. She is one of only eleven female basketball players to have won an NCAA championship, a World Championship, Olympic gold, and a WNBA ring. And as a legend who gave two decades to the WNBA, she understands the value of representing her country. Something that even according to this 5x Olympic gold medalist, is not easy.

Following the Olympics, Sue Bird sat down with Rachel Nichols on the Open Run podcast to talk about the sentiment the basketball fans had about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s Olympic snub. “It’s a gift and a curse. It’s the reason for the dominance. We have so much talent. We’ve always said and not said it lightly we could probably field another Olympic team, another World Cup team. So, sadly, that leads to this idea of snubs. It’s tough,” Bird revealed on the podcast.

Talking about one of the biggest snubs according to her, Bird added, “Candace Parker is probably the biggest one in my opinion in all of USA basketball. But then it all comes down to who do you take off? If you’re willing to pick one player to take someone off to put another on, by all means. For me personally, I look back at all of our Olympic teams, all of our World Cup teams, I don’t know who I would take off. That’s kind of again, a gift and a curse of it all.”

After Team USA for the Paris Olympics was announced in June, many basketball followers disapproved of the stars who made it to the roster. But who was the biggest snub?

Caitlin Clark, Arike Ogunbowale, and who? Looking at the Team USA snubs

Among the top were Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Arike Ogunbowale. Later, Ogunbowale mentioned how she took her name back from the process months ago due to the politics involved in the selection. Still, she took her revenge in the All-Star game by becoming a 2x MVP and thrashing Team USA.

Alongside her were the rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, whose snub may have also affected Team USA. The Indiana Fever rookie had proven her abilities on the floor and even Dawn Staley swayed in Caitlin Clark’s favor last month. The Chicago Sky rookie, too, had been a defensive maestro for Chicago. While they both were let off due to their inexperience in the international waters and also physicality among many reasons, these are not the only times that people have not been satisfied with the selection committee.

As Sue Bird mentioned, Candace Parker, who played in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games, was also not brought back for the 2016 Rio Games. This was in spite of her giving great numbers and having the required talent, skill, and experience. Nevertheless, while we may not know who gets to be on Team USA, we can count on them for the championship titles every time. Who knows, we will have Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese representing the USA much before the LA Summer Games in 2028.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.