Cheryl Reeve Gets Criticized After Team USA Escapes France to Win Olympics Gold
The US women's national basketball team got the job done.
Team USA defeated France in the Paris 2024 Olympics gold medal match on Sunday; marking their eighth consecutive Olympic games winning gold.
But nobody predicted this 67-66 game would be as close as it was.
And despite Team USA doing what they needed to, head coach Cheryl Reeve faced a lot of criticism on social media during the anxiety-inducing win.
One X user went viral on Sunday for writing, "The NBA guys on the sideline are standing up coaching because Cheryl Reeve ain’t doing her f****** job".
Another X user added, "Cheryl Reeve has 3 of the best 3pt shooters in the WNBA EVER getting no minutes on the bench while France just packs the paint with defense because they know our guards aren’t a threat from the line, this is catastrophically bad coaching".
Cheryl Reeve has 3 of the best 3pt shooters in the WNBA EVER getting no minutes on the bench while France just packs the paint with defense because they know our guards aren’t a threat from the line, this is catastrophically bad coaching
— MK ⚾️🗽 (@squintsNY) August 11, 2024
Many American hoops fans seem to be especially upset because New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu (arguably Team USA's best sharpshooter) only played 10 minutes and took one shot in the gold medal game.
One reason for this is that Kahleah Copper was putting Team USA on her back, which limited Ionescu's minutes. But Reeve could have given the duo more time on the court together.
Also of note is that Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, who has been dominant in the paint throughout the Olympics, only played five minutes against France.
The tallest player on Team France is Dominique Malonga, who is listed at 6'5". Janelle Salaun, who was France's starting center on Sunday, is listed at 6'1".
Brittney Griner is 6'9".
i'm sending cheryl reeve my therapy bills for the next 2 months no matter how this ends up
— Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) August 11, 2024
Of course, Reeve has an extremely tough job trying to figure out the correct playing time for 12 of the world's best female basketball players when only 5 can play simultaneously.
And given that Team USA secured gold, Reeve can't be criticized too harshly.
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.