2028 USA Olympics Women's Basketball Team is Already Drawing Attention
The US women's national basketball team secured its eighth consecutive gold medal on Sunday after defeating Team France by a score of 67-66.
This gold medal win was the 61st consecutive Olympics victory, a streak that goes back to the 1992 Olympics.
These 30-plus years of dominance by Team USA is staggering. But if the Paris 2024 Olympics taught the basketball community anything (specifically the men's and women's gold medal games vs. France), it's that other countries are beginning to close the gap in women's basketball talent between them and the US.
In the aftermath of Sunday's nail-biting gold medal win, an X user went viral for writing, "Team USA (male and female) need to savor these gold medals. Might be a while til they get another one."
Team USA (male and female) need to savor these gold medals. Might be a while til they get another one.
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) August 11, 2024
The post (which has nearly 2 million views in 24 hours) generated a lot of discussion about the state of Team USA.
It also prompted one fan to post a predicted Team USA women's roster for 2028.
Look me dead in my face and tell me there’s a team out there beating this in four years lmfao https://t.co/Y9qGeql0zE pic.twitter.com/2Z5jPGtOoW
— A🦁 (@itsYDG2) August 11, 2024
This star-studded 2028 Olympics roster prediction includes rookie sensations Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese along with 2024 gold medalists Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier.
In addition to that incredible crop of talent, WNBA standout (and Clark's Indiana Fever teammate) Aliyah Boston is included along with injured Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, who was supposed to represent Team USA in 3x3 basketball at Paris before tearing her ACL earlier this summer.
To round out this iconic roster, current college guards Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins are also included.
This Team USA would generate a ton of attention for the sport of women's basketball. But Angel Reese took to X on Sunday to slow down some of the ongoing 2028 chatter.
"Let’s just congratulate these women & let them enjoy this moment! Leave me out of this until my time comes!" Reese wrote in response to a 2028 Team USA roster projection.
Let’s just congratulate these women & let them enjoy this moment! Leave me out of this until my time comes! 😇 https://t.co/tMK1jr9tdZ
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 11, 2024
Reese is right in saying that the 2024 women's team still deserves their flowers. But basketball fans can't help but get excited about what the 2028 Los Angeles games may have in store.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.