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Team USA Trolled By Fan at Olympics With Hilarious Caitlin Clark Sign

Tom Dierberger

Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark take a photo together after the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center.
Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark take a photo together after the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center. / Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

There was plenty of chatter and controversy leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris when Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark was left off the USA Basketball women's basketball team roster.

Ahead of Team USA's opening Olympic matchup against Japan to open the group phase on Monday, one fan poked fun at coach Cheryl Reeve's team with a clever sign.

"You need Caitlin Clark to beat us," the sign read.

It's a bold proclamation from the fan, as Team USA women's basketball has won gold medals in the last seven Olympic Games, dating back to 1996 in Atlanta, and is the favorite once again in 2024. This year's squad went 3–0 in the qualifying tournament and beat Germany 84–57 in a pre-Olympics tune-up July 23, but it did lose 117–109 to Clark and the WNBA All-Stars on July 20.

Team USA led Japan 22–15 after one quarter on Monday.

After taking on Japan on Monday, the Americans will face Belgium on Wednesday and Germany on Sunday to wrap up the group phase. The knockout rounds will begin after that with the four women's quarterfinals scheduled for Aug. 7.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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