A number one pick throwing shade at another number one pick, that sounds familiar? Let’s rewind the clock for you.
Caitlin Clark was just two years old when Diana Taurasi went No. 1 overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft. Two decades later, the league’s most decorated veteran delivered a rather chilly welcome to the 2024 top pick. Not with anything else, but a hard reality check. “Reality is coming….you look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women,” Taurasi said. Nobody knew back then that soon this would translate into a double sting with CC being left out.
Soon after though, Caitlin Clark quickly managed to silence any baseless doubts and broke multiple records of Taurasi’s. Especially, her single season assists record of 337 and also her record for the most three pointers by hitting 122 of her own. That performance forced Taurasi to respond with a “Thank you. Unfortunately, reality is coming to me now,” to Clark’s retirement wish to her. However, sadly for CC, that historic rookie run earned her nothing more than a sarcastic nod. Especially not a spot on Team USA’s final 12 for the 5×5 Olympic roster.
USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee snubbed Caitlin Clark. Just for them to give a spot to oft-injured, 42-year-old Diana Taurasi, as a kind of going-away present to cap her illustrious career. It wasn’t a smart move. Just deprived the team of the much deserved spotlight that Caitlin Clark could have brought, amidst a packed Olympics schedule. They did try to fix the situation later, but “Hey coach, they woke a monster,” said Clark upon hearing the news.
lmao not team USA trying to get caitlin to play 3×3 because they snubbed her. shameless pic.twitter.com/jkSNWWvv9l
— depressed cc akgae (@clrkszn) June 23, 2025
So, there was no way she was taking up a pity invite to the US women’s 3×3 team. Some tend to believe that proofs of Clark’s wide appeal prompted them to make that offer. Because, Editors all around the nation chose to use the name and photo of someone who was not on the team to get people interested in stories about the the U.S. Olympic women’s team. She wasn’t originally qualified to participate in the 3×3 event. However, there was a qualifying event for her to play in to become eligible for the Olympics.
But guess what, she didn’t even appear for that event. “USA Basketball was asking: Was this a possibility? Did Clark want to go to Paris on this U.S. team? The answer from Clark and her team was simple: No. She did not want to play 3×3 basketball at the Olympics.” Because although its an Olympics event, it doesn’t come even slightly close to the original 5×5 game. The event was held in a temporary stadium at Place de la Concorde. Where the guillotine was located during the French Revolution. Spain took home the gold, whereas USA managed to bag bronze.
Caitlin Clark’s Olympics Ineligibility factor…
Long before any offer, acceptance or rejection, one technicality had already sealed Caitlin Clark’s fate.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) talks with an official during a timeout Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at a game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
FIBA’s eligibility rules for 3×3 basketball at Paris 2024 were clear: every athlete needed an active, confirmed account on play.fiba3x3.com, with at least two of the four team members ranked in the national top 10 by June 24, 2024. The other two players either had to meet that same ranking threshold or should have played in at least one FIBA-sanctioned 3×3 event between January 1, 2023, and June 24, 2024.
Despite being one of the most electrifying names in basketball, Caitlin Clark had zero FIBA 3×3 ranking points. And no appearances either in any qualifying tournaments during that window. That technicality alone made her ineligible, no matter how big her stardom was. She wasn’t the only one left out. Angel Reese, 2021 gold medalist Stefanie Dolson, and 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston also missed the cut due to their lack of 3×3 experience.
But Caitlin Clark did have a unique opportunity. Two sources confirmed that USA Basketball approached her well before the deadline. They offered her a spot on the 3×3 team with a plan to get her eligible. They had pinpointed a specific qualifying event she could play in just to check the box. But her camp turned it down. Despite her history with USA’s 5×5 junior national teams, Clark chose not to chase the 3×3 qualification. And just like that, her path to Paris had vanished, long before the public even started debating it.
Looking ahead, Clark hasn’t backed off her Olympic dreams, she’s targeting the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, where she hopes her full‑court 5‑on‑5 dominance will secure her a spot.
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