Women’s basketball great Diana Taurasi, 42, has extra incentive to help Team USA bring home the gold in Paris with a record sixth gold medal on the line. But it’s not about that for her.
“We’re all here to bring home gold, and it starts every single day from here on out,” Taurasi told reporters on July 27. “So I’m excited for this group, for this unit. It’s the beginning of a journey for us.”
That journey tips off on July 28 with a game against Japan at 3 p.m. ET. Despite Team USA’s dominance in women’s basketball amid star-studded lineups, Japan has a history with the United States.
Team USA beat Japan 90–75 in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Japan also owns the rare distinction of beating the United States in 1976 for a 1–2 record all-time against the Americans. The Japanese come in ranked No. 9 by FIBA.
“There’s so many good teams and everyone’s level has been raised in the last two or three Olympics,” Taurasi said. “You see the investment in women’s sports and it pays off on the court. So that’s promising to see.”
Team USA had few practices as a team before the Olympics as the players take a break from the WNBA season. The United States got an early wake-up call when the WNBA All-Star squad with Arike Ogunbowale and Caitlin Clark beat Team USA 117–109 on July 21 during the All-Star Weekend.
Clark, arguably the current women’s basketball phenom, won’t be representing the United States in Paris, but the star-studded lineup features plenty of big-name talent to make a run. Center A'ja Wilson, who previously played in the Tokyo games, acknowledged the challenge of a tight schedule before the Olympics.
“We make the most of the time we have and just try to get better every day,” Wilson said.
Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces teammates—Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young—also compete for Team USA. Such WNBA connections could help Team USA gel in Paris.
Taurasi has two Phoenix Mercury teammates in Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper on the U.S. roster. Two New York Liberty players, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, also seek gold with Team USA.
National team head coach Cheryl Reeve, who also coaches the Minnesota Lynx, highlighted depth as a key strength for her squad. Nine of the U.S. players are in the top 25 for most minutes played in the WNBA this season.
“Look what’s coming off our bench,” Reeve said. “I think that’s been real valuable. I’ve seen that. I was in London for the 2012 Olympics and just watching the way they used their second team. Felt it again in 2016, and so, yeah, I mean we would be a fool not to utilize our depth.”
After Japan tangles with Team USA’s depth, Belgium will face the Americans on Aug. 1 at 3 p.m. EST. Team USA then closes out Group C play with Germany on Aug. 4 at 11:15 a.m. EST.
Quarterfinal play begins on Aug. 7, and Australia, France, and Spain are expected to make runs in tournament play.
Team USA has reached at least the semifinals in every Olympic appearance. It fell in the 1992 semifinals in Barcelona before the current streak of seven-straight gold medals.
Taurasi, who won gold in the previous five, is more focused on the present than the legacy.
“It doesn’t matter what the history is, it doesn’t affect this team or this Olympics,” Taurasi said. “We find a way to find our own identity as a team on and off the court. Those last eight don’t promise you anything going forward. That’s the mindset we’ve always taken.”
